Harry Potter and the Mystic Knights
by Arctic Wolf2
Summary: Harry goes missing after his fourth year and comes back changed. Now with new powers and friends Harry finally feels ready to face Voldemort. Now Complete! Please R&R MARCH 2012 Minor revision done so that the story flows better :
1. Where is he?

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE HE IS!" yelled Mr. Weasley as he glared into the house of four Privet drive. He and Ron, his son, had just arrived to pick up Harry for the rest of the summer only to discover that he had left the Dursley's a week after he got there.

"Keep your voice down." Uncle Vernon snapped. He yanked Ron and Mr. Weasley into the house and slammed the door shut behind them. "I don't want the neighbors to see you ." He said indicating Mr. Weasley's tattered robes. "I will tell you one last time. .. boy. is" he seethed slowly.

Mr. Weasley glared at him murderously; Vernon ignored the look and continued. "We brought back with us from the train station. A week later, he just disappeared. His trunk and belongings were gone as well as that ruddy owl. My wife went to get him to cook breakfast for us but he was gone. Ungrateful git, he didn't even do all the chores."

Ron had steam coming out of his ears. "You stupid piece of muggle trash." He spat. "You talk of Harry like he was your slave not nephew. Harry is the most decent person I have ever known it's no wonder he ran away from you; you stupid bas."

"RON!" cried Mr. Weasley clamping a hand over Ron's mouth; he didn't like it when any of his sons used profanity. "Let me handle this." He turned back to Vernon, "Do you have any idea at all where Harry might have gone?" When Vernon snorted, Mr. Weasley took it as a no. Sighing, he opened the door and dragged Ron back to his car. (He got a bonus from the ministry of magic and used it to buy himself a new car. Since Ron and Harry wrecked his Ford Angelica in their second year.) Climbing into the front seat Mr. Weasley started the engine; and when Ron was in the passenger's seat, they took off.

Glancing at Ron out of the corner of his eye, he saw the troubled look on his son's face. And he had good reason to worry, his best friend was missing and not to mention Harry would be vulnerable to you-know-who all on his own. They drove in silence before Mr. Weasley finally spoke up.

"Ron, do you know of any place that Harry might have gone?" he asked making a left hand turn onto the freeway leading to Ottery St Catchpole.

Ron thought a moment before he brightened up, "Yes," he replied. "He might have gone to." Ron's face dropped and he shook his head. "Never mind, I just remembered Sirius isn't living in the cave on the cliff anymore. He left when Dumbledore asked him to do something for him at the end of last year." He sighed, "I don't know where else he would go except Hogwarts maybe."

Truth be told, Mr. Weasley had been thinking along the same lines as Ron. He had thought that Harry would go straight to Sirius, and then remembered that Sirius left after the Triwziard Tournament, to comply with Professor Dumbledore's wishes.

Mr. Weasley hadn't liked the fact that Dumbledore had sent Sirius away when Harry needed him the most. Harry had witnessed many horrible things in that graveyard the night of the third task. Harry had witnessed Cedric's murder as well as the rise of he-who-must-not-be-named, and needed someone to talk to at any time or another. But Dumbledore had sent Sirius off somewhere and Harry back to the Dursley's where he would have no one to talk to, no one who cared for him and would comfort him when the nightmares had started up again.

Harry had written to Ron three days into the summer saying that he was having the nightmares again. He had begged Ron to talk to Dumbledore about letting him stay at the Burrow (the Weasleys home) for the summer. He couldn't stand the Dursley's a day longer. They were treating him worse then ever because of the incident last summer when Dudley ate one of Fred and George's candies that made his tongue grow to three times its normal size. They made him do all the chores in and outside of the house, fed him very little and expected him to get a full time summer job to pay rent.

That was the only letter Ron had received from Harry, and when Ron had tried to send him letters, they came back as if Pig couldn't find him. It worried Ron that Harry wasn't taking his letters so (with Dumbledore's permission) they had driven to number four Privet drive to pick him up, only to find out that Harry had left the Dursley's a week ago and never returned.

Mr. Weasley and Ron were at loose ends when they pulled into the Burrow's driveway many hours later. Neither had spoken since Mr. Weasley's question; both lost in their own thoughts.

They climbed out of the car and trudged up the walkway and into their house. Upon entering, Ron immediately smelled the sausage and hash browns his mom was cooking for breakfast. Remembering it was Harry's favorite she had decided it was the perfect 'welcome back' breakfast for Harry's arrival at the Burrow.

Ron walked past the kitchen and into the living room where he sat on the couch. A minute later, he heard his mom's sobs from the kitchen.

"Oh Arthur, where could he be?" she asked between sobs. "Where in the world could he have gone?"

"I don't know." Replied shaking his head. "Molly, you wake the rest of the kids and I'll contact Dumbledore and hopefully he'll know where Harry is. But Molly, dear try not to worry. Harry is a strong boy he'll be fine." Mr. Weasley watched his wife climb the stairs to wake everyone else, and he wished he could believe his own words.

* * *

Harry Potter laughed as he watched the scene before him. Jessica and Greg were arguing again. He had met the pair only a week ago and already they felt like family. He could still remember that day perfectly, it had been six in the morning and Harry had just finished his composition on the legend: The Mystic Knights, for professor Binns.

Harry could remember every word on the Mystic Knights that he had written down. His composition basically just said that the Mystic Knights were legend, they would help those in grave danger and watch over the world to make sure it remains safe and happy. Legend has it that the last known Mystic Knight died before the terrible reign of Voldemort and there hasn't been any since. Although many people believed that The Mystic Knights were nothing but a made up story to give the world some sort of false sense of security.

Harry, however, knew differently now. For the very same day, he had been paid a visit by Greg Talon, the last known Mystic Knight in the world. He had retired before Voldemort and was too old to do anything to help, no matter how hard he had tried his efforts were not enough to stop Voldemort, especially without his partner to help. Greg had told Harry that day that he and another fifteen year old had the skills needed to become a Mystic Knight. Harry couldn't have been happier to go with Greg and start training right away. He had, however, felt bad that he couldn't inform Dumbledore or his friends of his whereabouts and was not allowed to send any letter in fear they may be traced.

So Harry had been in this cave with the same two people for a week now and already he was beginning to master the skills of the Mystic Knight that he was born with. Along with Jessica Lock, another Mystic Knight trainee, he had developed his skills very easily over the past week. Greg had assured him that at the pace he and Jessica were learning he should be able to rejoin his fellow fifth years at Hogwarts on September the first.

Harry's thoughts wandered back to the argument Greg and Jessica were having. Harry smiled and sat back to watch.

"This is training not a bloody war." Jessica snapped holding a towel up to her bloody arm. She and Greg had been sparing with their swords and Greg had slashed her arm when she lost concentration for a moment.

Harry knew that Mystic Knights prefer to do battle with swords and physical strength. Although they have been known to fight with wands on some occasions, Mystic Knights find that fighting with wand magic isn't an honorable battle. So it came as no surprise to him when Greg had started out and ended their training sessions everyday with swordplay.

"I am just trying to teach you what happens when you aren't focused on the battle, and your mind wanders. On most occasions you are injured or worst." Greg explained running a hand through his grey hair. Greg was tall and quite old, with tired brown eyes, grey hair and tattered wizard robes. He was usually a kind man unless you didn't take what he was saying seriously then he could get really scary.

Jessica on the other hand was around the same size as Harry. She had spiked black hair but the tips of her spikes were pink. Her metallic blue eyes shone with defiance as she cradled her injured arm, yet she said nothing. Even Jessica knew better then to argue with Greg when he was trying to prove a point.

"Fine whatever." She mumbled, shooting Harry a glare that stopped his soft chuckles. "Your turn Golden boy." She growled.

When Harry vacated the chair he had been sitting on Jessica immediately took his place. "Good luck." She muttered sarcastically.

Harry laughed and pulled his sword from its scabbard. His sword, like all other Mystic Knights swords, had small, silver jewels of Faith, Strength, Charity, and Justice on their hilts. However on every sword was the name of their owner engraved into the metal. Harry looked at his sword his eyes lingering on the name 'Harry Potter' before looking at Greg with a smile.

"I'm ready when you are." Harry said taking a fighting stance. Greg nodded once and the battle began.

Greg started the attack, and swung his sword towards Harry's neck. Harry managed to duck just before it took off his head, instantly he retaliated and the two sparred for a few minutes before Harry knocked Greg's sword to the ground out of reach.

But Greg was too quick for Harry, when Harry thrust his sword towards Greg's stomach; Greg quickly sidestepped it and grabbed Harry from behind pinning his arms to his sides. Harry was caught; Greg hadn't taught them the counter moves for that. Harry dropped his sword he was beaten.

* * *

Dumbledore sighed as he paced the Weasley's kitchen; he was just as worried about Harry as were the Weasley's. And like Mr. Weasley and his family, he had no idea where Harry was or where he might go. Dumbledore thought that the only place, other then Sirius's, would be Hogwarts. However, he was not there and after checking Sirius's cave, they had no idea where to look next. He glanced toward the kitchen table where Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, Mrs. Weasley, Percy and Mr. Weasley were seated all deep in thought. No one had spoken a word since Mr. Weasley had explained to everyone what was going on.

"A search party!" Fred yelled suddenly. The others in the room looked at him like he had gone mad. "We split up and look for Harry, we show people pictures of Harry and ask if they have seen him." He clarified.

"Wouldn't that draw too much attention? You-know-who has followers everywhere and if they find out that Harry is missing." Ginny trailed off not needing to finish, everyone knew what would happen. Voldemort would know Harry was vulnerable and alone and find him first, and kill him.

"Ginny is right." Mr. Weasley said with a curt nod. "We can't risk you-know- who finding out that Harry is missing. But maybe if we were to be discreet, we could look for him without enlisting wizards or muggles." he turned to Dumbledore who seemed to be considering this.

Dumbledore nodded, "Percy, Mr. Weasley and I will apparate from place to place in search of Harry. Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Fred, George and Ron shall wait here in case Harry shows up. We leave immediately."

"But..." Ron started but was cut off by his father.

"No buts Ron. We'll be in touch." With that, the two Weasley's and Dumbledore were gone.

Ron sighed and slumped back in his chair, "This isn't fair; he's my best friend I should be helping with the search. He would do the same for me."

"I know, dear, but the search will go much faster when apparating. And you're too young to know how to yet." Mrs. Weasley said kindly as she stood up and started to do the dishes that were in the sink, she always cleaned when she was upset.

Ron sighed again, "Yeah, I know. I just wish I could do something." Then he smacked his forehead hard causing his mom and sister to look at him. "Hermione doesn't know, I better go write her. Maybe Harry found out where she lived and went there." That being said he jumped up from his seat and raced up the stairs to his room to write the letter.

* * *

"Ok, you mastered the sword and fighting techniques. Now we move on to animagus training." Greg said. He paced before Harry and Jessica. "Most people believe that what you become is up to you, but in reality the animal chooses you. Like for me, when I first started training I wanted to be a bull. But when I had finally managed to transform I became an owl instead. So you have no choice in the animal you become. Usually the animal implants itself into your head and makes you think that is what you want to become."

"But sir, it takes nearly three years to become an animagus." Harry said confused. "At least that how long it took my father and godfather."

"True, but they did it themselves without any supervised help. And with supervision and guidance it takes the normal Wizard around six months."

"But we're not normal." Jessica said slowly, catching on to what Greg was saying.

"Exactly," cried Greg, "You are Mystic Knights, and you have abilities that go far beyond normal wizards, like wandless magic. Therefore it should take you around a day or two to master it, with hard work of course."

"Cool," Jessica muttered a mischievous gleam dancing in her eyes. "Well let's get started then."

Greg clapped his hands together and smiled, "All right, first thing you have to do is."

* * *

"It's been almost a month and we still haven't found a single clue as to where Harry might be." Said an exasperated Sirius as he paced the Weasley's living room floor. Sirius had returned almost two weeks ago, from his favor to Dumbledore, only to find out that Harry was missing. He had helped Percy, Mr. Weasley and Dumbledore search for Harry and no one had found a single clue to his whereabouts.

"Wherever he is, it is clear that he doesn't want to be found." Dumbledore sighed, "It is also painfully clear that he won't be until he wants to be." He sat down on the couch next to Hermione and Ron.

Sirius continued to pace the floor while the Weasley's, Dumbledore and Hermione watched him. Sirius was easily agitated so they decided it was best to say nothing. His pacing was abruptly stopped when a tapping at the Weasley's window drew everyone's attention. There fluttering outside was Hedwig with a letter in her beak.

Instantly Ron leapt up and opened the window, Hedwig flew around the room once before dropping the letter into Ron's hands and flying out the window again. Quickly Ron tore off the letters envelope and read the letter. "It's from Harry!" he yelled and began to read the letter out loud.

**_Dear Ron_, (as well as the rest of the Weasley's, Dumbledore, Hermione and Sirius)**

"How did he know we were here?" Hermione interrupted. But she left the question hanging when Ron glared at her to be quiet.

**_You have all probably been wondering where I have been for the last month. And I regret that I am not allowed to divulge that particular bit of information. I can, however, tell you that I am alright and intend to be at Hogwarts this coming year. I hope to see you all there and hopefully you will not be angry at me. Cheers!_**

**_Your friend, Harry_**

The group sat in silence for a few minutes before Dumbledore finally spoke up in a careful yet confused tone.

"At least we know that Harry is alive and well." He said scratching his bearded chin. "Although he used sentences I never would have expected to come from him. Such as, 'I am not allowed to divulge that particular bit of information;"

Mr. Weasley nodded, "How can we be sure that Harry had actually sent us that letter?"

This had obviously been on everyone else's minds as well, but no one had an answer.

* * *

"Seriously?" Jessica said as she grabbed Harry's arm in anticipation.

Greg nodded, "You two have worked very hard and mastered most of the skills you need, so I say go have fun. You can go to London and get your school supplies as well as do whatever you want. I need you to be back here in three days though, understood?"

Harry was about to answer when Jessica started dragging him to the fireplace Greg had built. So he just smiled at Greg stepped in first and yelled "Diagon Alley."

Harry landed with a thud as he stumbled from the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace and fell to the ground.

He groaned when a very excited Jessica came barreling out of the fireplace and landed on top of him. Harry heard someone laugh and looked up to see Tom, the toothless owner, grinning at the scene before him.

Jessica scrambled off of Harry and helped him to his feet. "Sorry," she said brushing some floo powder and ashes from his shoulder length, messy, black hair.

He shrugged her off and sat at the bar, "A butterbeer, Tom, and two rooms please."

"All right then Harry, coming right up." Tom said with an enthusiastic grin as he busied himself behind the counter, getting Harry's butterbeer.

Jessica sat next to Harry and whined, "You want to sit down and do nothing while we could be shopping or getting you a haircut." She pouted at Harry, knowing he couldn't resist her pleas.

Harry sighed and turned back to Tom, "Could you make that Butterbeer to go?" he asked ignoring Jessica's triumphant look.

Tom nodded and a few minutes later Harry and Jessica made their way to Gringotts to get some money. They would have to exchange some wizard money for muggle to get some new clothes and Harry a haircut so they figured that was probably the best place to start their day.

Leaving Diagon alley half an hour later the two friends passed through the Leaky Cauldron and out the front door. Muggle's could be seen from left and right all moving from store to store or just going for a walk but the duo paid them no mind.

The first thing they did was head to a barber shop. The barber's name was Stan and he had a yellow Mohawk and tired brown eyes, he looked to be around twenty.

"What can I do for you?" he asked ushering Harry into a chair and draping a towel around his neck.

"Do whatever, I don't care." Harry said with a shrug. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew was that Stan was shaking him awake.

"All done kid." He announced turning Harry's chair to face the mirror. "What do you think?"

Harry couldn't believe his eyes, he certainly never expected this. Stan had dyed his hair a, very noticeable, blue and spiked it. His hair was definetly shorter then before and he had no bangs so you could see his scar easily. Although this was something Harry never in a million years would have asked for, he liked it. "It's great!" he exclaimed checking all angle's of his now blue hair. "How much do I owe you?"

Stan smiled proudly, "Twenty pounds, which includes these." He said taking some items off the shampoo shelf behind him and placing them in a paper bag. "You'll need these to shower with to keep the dye in."

"Thanks," Harry smiled handing the barber a twenty pound note. "I can just see the look on Vernon's face if I went to see him like this." Harry laughed as he and Jessica left the barber shop and headed off to find some clothes.

"Yeah, from what you told me about him, he would probably blow a gasket." Jessica giggled. "Hey look," she exclaimed suddenly, "a tattoo parlor. Let's go." She started to drag Harry across the street to the tattoo parlor but he refused to move. "What's wrong?"

"I am not getting a tattoo." Harry said.

Jessica rolled her eyes, "Why not?"

"Because that's not my style." He answered.

"Like blue hair isn't your style?" she quirked an eyebrow cheekily.

"Well...I can live with the hair and so can my friends, but how do you think everyone will act if the-boy-that-lived got a tattoo of a skull or something?"

"Oh, so that's what this is about. You won't get a tattoo because your friends won't approve of it. Don't you ever get tired of doing what everyone expects you to do? Why not do something you want to do for a change. Who cares what your friends will think if you want a tattoo then get one for Christ's sake!"

Harry looked at his fellow Mystic Knight hesitantly, "Well...I have always kind of wanted one." He paused, "All right let's do it."

"That's the spirit, Harry." With that, the two friends jogged across the street and into the tattoo parlor.

* * *

"Alright, go ahead." Mr. Weasley told Hermione, Ron and Ginny as they stepped into Diagon Alley. "We'll be with Tom in the Leaky Cauldron if you need anything."

The trio nodded and headed off towards Flourish and Blotts to buy their books. They remained silent until Ron spoke up.

"This is stupid, he's our friend and he tells us not to worry so why can't we just drop it. This is Harry we're talking about; he's survived countless attacks from you-know-who. Not to mention he's also survived living with the Dursley's for fifteen years." Ron's face dropped as he lost steam and sighed, "I can't even convince myself not to worry, let alone you guys."

Hermione gave him a sympathetic smile while Ginny threw her arm around his shoulders in a comforting way.

Two hours later the three were done their shopping and headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. Upon entering, they heard yells coming from the bar, they saw a strange scene unfold before them, Mr. Weasley was arguing with a boy with spiked blue hair, and a girl with spiked black hair with pink tips.

"You disappear without a trace and only send us one letter, now your acting like it's no big deal." Mr. Weasley yelled.

"I wrote that letter so you would stop worrying. You were lucky that I was even able to send one." The boy said patiently as if speaking to a child.

"R-Ron, that's Harry!" Hermione whispered in awe. Beside her, she saw Ron nod; he had obviously figured it out as well.

"What do you mean? Who was stopping you from sending us letters?" asked Mr. Weasley a little more calmly, although you could tell it took some restraint to keep from yelling.

Harry sighed and averted his eyes, "I-I just meant I was really busy and couldn't find any time to write you." He whispered. This seemed to infuriate Mr. Weasley even more. "Listen I know you guys want answers as to where I have been for the last month, but I can't tell you."

He was cut off by Jessica, "So sorry but we have to run, come on Harry." She started to drag him towards the fireplace, "He'll see you at Hogwarts in a few weeks, ta, ta for now."

Harry just smiled at Mr. Weasley sheepishly before he allowed himself to be pushed into the fireplace. The last thing Harry saw before he returned to the cave was Ron, Hermione and Ginny joining Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley.

Before Jessica followed Harry, she turned to the Weasley's with a superior smirk. "See you in a few weeks weasels." With a small laugh she too stepped into the fireplace threw down her floo powder and disappeared.

* * *

"So, Harry and I were just having a butter beer when Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley walked in. They didn't recognize Harry at first but when they did. the first thing both of them said was 'What happened to your hair'." Jessica paused to chuckle. "Then next thing we know Mr. Weasley is yelling at Harry about not informing them of his whereabouts. I got sick of it after a while and we came back here. You should have seen the looks on his friend's faces when they saw his blue hair. I shudder to think how they would react when they see his tattoo."

Greg was laughing so hard by now he was doubled over clutching his stomach. He calmed down enough to ask, "Harry you got a tattoo? Let me see it."

Harry was angry that Greg found this story so amusing, but pulled up his right sleeve anyway. There on his forearm was a tattoo of a black panther. The panther stood in an attacking position with one clawed paw outstretched the panthers eyes were a glowing yellow while the rest of him was black.

Greg smiled, "Cool," he said inspecting it. "You chose a tattoo of your animagus form. Very nice indeed. Did you get one Jessica?" he turned to see her smile and nod, "Well let's see it then."

Jessica pulled up her own right sleeve and showed Greg her tattoo that was also on her forearm. It was a black wolf with glowing amber eyes. "I got a tattoo of my animagus form too." She explained with a grin.

Greg nodded, "I can see that. Well we better get started on the last thing I have to train you in. In every generation of Mystic Knights, there is always a boy and a girl. The girl had a special power of fire, she can throw fire spheres that will burn anything it hits, and the boy has ice power he throws ice spheres that freezes anything it hits. So I will finish training you in those specific abilities and then you learned everything you need to know for now." He turned to get something before turning back for a second, "Oh and I forgot to tell you; all Mystic Knights are linked to each other, so if your partner is in any trouble you'll know it."

"How will we know if the other is in trouble?" Harry asked a little apprehensive.

"A sharp pain in your stomach will inform you, the intensity of that pain reflects the pain in your partner. For example, the closer to death your partner is the sharper the pain in your stomach becomes." Greg answered with a sad smile.

"Does that mean if she dies I die?" Harry asked a little confused.

Greg shook his head, "No, but the link will be completely severed and you'll have a feeling of emptiness in your heart."

* * *

Well what do you think? Should I continue? Please review. I have more chapters ready to put up, but im going to need reviews from you guys to keep this story going.


	2. Back to the Burrow

The next day.

"You saw Harry in the Leaky Cauldron?" Sirius asked startled. He couldn't believe what Mr. Weasley had just told him, he had said that they had seen Harry in the Leaky Cauldron just the day before and he was with a strange girl. "You didn't bring him back with you so I could kill him? Why?"

"We didn't have time, before we knew what was happening the girl had dragged him over to the fireplace and they left by floo powder." Mr. Weasley explained, then seeing Sirius's confused expression added, "We would have gone after him but he never said where he was going, he just stood in the fireplace threw down the floo powder and disappeared."

"But don't you usually have to tell the fire where you want to go?" asked Fred in confusion.

Mrs. Weasley nodded, "That is what startled us the most, neither Harry nor that girl" she said 'girl' with disgust, "said anything, they just stepped in threw the powder and were gone."

"Strange," Dumbledore mused scratching his chin. "Strange indeed, you didn't even see either of them whispering?"

Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley all shook their heads in the negative. None of them had seen Harry or the girl even murmur a syllable.

"There must be some sort of logical explanation," Dumbledore whispered mostly to himself, "I must go back to Hogwarts. Please inform me if anything else unusual occurs." He said just before he disapparated with a loud pop!

Sirius fell heavily into a kitchen chair, he was obviously worried about Harry and the group in the room could offer him no relief.

But Hermione decided to look on the bright side anyway, "At least we know he's alive."

Sirius snorted, "True, but we have no idea where he is, why he's there, or who he is with. Voldemort could have kidnapped him and threatened him in some way if he didn't cooperate or something." He sighed, "If I could just talk to him for five minutes I'm sure I could get him to open up."

Just then, Hedwig flew through the open window of the kitchen and dropped another letter in front of Ron, this time she had been told to stay and wait for a response.

Ron eagerly tore open the letter and read it out loud.

_**Dear Ron and the Weasleys**_

_**I know that you are all worried about me, and I can understand that, I too would be in a panic if any of you went missing. However, I know I probably hurt your father when I couldn't tell him where I have been, but I must tell you that I am ready to come back.**_

Ron paused and looked up at his family in confusion, they too seemed taken aback at what Ron had just read, and shaking his head, Ron continued,

_**I don't, however, wish to go back to the Dursley's. Therefore, I wrote this letter to ask your permission to spend the last two weeks of the summer holidays at the Burrow. I will understand if you do not wish to have me there because of the worry, I have caused you all. Please send your response back with Hedwig.**_

_**Yours truly, Harry Potter.**_

Ron looked at his mom, the hope evident in his eyes. She nodded and immediately Ron scribbled a response on the back of the letter Harry had sent.

**_Harry,_**

**_Of course, you can come and stay with us for the rest of the holidays! We didn't expect to see you until the start of school but now is better. Come by as soon as you get this letter._**

**_Ron._**

He tied the letter to Hedwig's leg and she took off back through the window. Once she disappeared from sight, he turned back to his family, Sirius and Hermione.

"He's coming to stay for the rest of the summer, we can question him then." Sirius stated as he took a sip of his tea. He sat back with a triumphant look etched onto his face.

"Now, now," Mrs. Weasley said with a frown, "He won't say a word if you push him. We will ask him once then wait until he's ready to tell us."

Sirius sat back with a mock pout, "Fine, but if he doesn't give me an answer by the time he leaves for Hogwarts, by George I'll kill him myself."

The group roared with laughter but was cut short by a tremendous crash in the living room. Startled Fred, George, Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Sirius, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny jumped up and ran into the living room. There on the floor in front of the fireplace was Harry Potter.

Harry stood shakily as he massaged his temples and muttered, "I will never get use to those damn landings."

"Harry Potter," cried Mrs. Weasley startling everyone including Harry, "watch your language young man." She said in mock anger.

Harry stared for a moment before breaking into a smile, "Sorry Mrs. Weasley. Thank you for allowing me to stay for the rest of the summer." he stood and brushed off the seat of his black jeans. He wore a black long- sleeved sweater and black jeans, what was surprising to the occupants of the room were that they fit him perfectly and looked new, instead of the usual worn hand me downs of Dudley's. Catching their looks he shrugged, "I went shopping in London."

"Nice hair," Fred grinned, "Get that done in London as well?" he and George roared with laughter.

Harry simply rolled his eyes and smiled, "Yes, actually, I did, why don't you like it?" He grinned again and reached up to carefully touch the spikes.

"I like it," whispered Ginny blushing slightly.

"You would," George teased and laughed as Ginny's face turn a dark shade of red from anger and embarrassment. The he turned back to Harry, "Seriously though I do like it, the color is nice and you aren't hiding your scar anymore."

Fred nodded, "I agree, it looks good, maybe George and I should dye and spike our hair too."

"You will do no such thing," Mrs. Weasley snapped. "Not while you're living under my roof."

Harry laughed and looked around the room; he was finally, where he wanted to be. His eyes settled on his godfather, "Sirius, how have ." He was cut off as Sirius pulled him into a bone crushing hug. His face had started to turn purple and he lightly smacked at his godfathers arm, "Sirius," he wheezed, "I need to breathe."

Sirius immediately released Harry with a guilty smile, "Sorry, it's just.I''ve all been so worried."

Harry managed a weak smile. He barely had time to catch his breath before Ron and Hermione pulled him into another hug.

Fred wiped a fake tear from his eye, "This is so touching," he sniffled, and then yelled, "Group hug."

The rest of the Weasley's laughed and joined the group hug, Ginny pulling Sirius in on the fun as well. Still laughing the group broke apart.

"Well this calls for a feast," Mrs. Weasley said clapping her hands together in delight. She bustled off to the kitchen and immediately began preparing their dinner. "Ron why don't you get Harry settled in." she called.

Ron grabbed one end of Harry's trunk and Harry took hold of the other then they set off upstairs.

When Harry, Ron and Hermione finally set the trunk down in Ron's room, Ron realized that they hadn't even set up the spare cot yet.

"Sorry," he apologized, "We weren't expecting you minutes after I replied. How did Hedwig get to you so fast, you know wherever you were?"

Harry grinned mischievously, "I was waiting for your reply at a house in Ottery St Catchpole. No one was home so I helped myself to their fireplace."

"You didn't!" Hermione cried horrified. "Harry you can't just break into someone's house and." she trailed off seeing Harry's amused face, "Oh, you were joking."

Ron snorted back a laugh and clapped Harry on the back, causing Harry to wince, but smile anyway. "Sorry mate, is there something wrong with your back?"

Harry hesitated, there were in fact bruises and cuts all over his chest and back from when he trained with Greg. Greg could have healed them but said it was better to keep them as a reminder for next time. To remind him to move faster and try harder. Harry thought this was a good idea, because it seemed to work, he moved faster trying to avoid the pain the sword and fists caused. But not wanting to worry his friends, he just shrugged it off, "Just a backache that's all."

Ron seemed to buy it but Hermione looked anxious nonetheless. "Are you sure?" she asked eyeing him wearily.

"Where are your glasses?" Ron asked finally noticing they were gone.

"I got contacts," Harry answered with a laid-back shrug.

Harry smiled, he would have said something else but at that moment Mr. Weasley came through Ron's door carrying Harry's cot with him.

"Here you are Harry." He said setting up the cot in its usual place. "Dinner will be in an hour. Harry, may I have a word?"

Harry had been expecting this moment and certainly wasn't looking forward to it but followed Mr. Weasley into the hall anyway. And sure enough, Mr. Weasley asked the question Harry had been waiting for. "Harry, may I ask where you have been all this time?"

Harry's insides turned to ice, he wanted to tell them all he really did, but it was too dangerous for them to know. If they let his secret slip in anyway, accident or under a spell, they would all be in danger. He bit his lip and sighed, "Why do you ask the question you know I cannot answer?" There, he had answered the question with a question of his own, hoping to shock Mr. Weasley and throw him of track.

Mr. Weasley nodded as if he were expecting that, he placed his hand on Harry's shoulder. "If you ever need to talk, whether it be about where you have been or anything else, just remember I am here and am willing to listen."

Harry nodded and watched Mr. Weasley walk away before returning to Ron's room. His friends asked him what Mr. Weasley had wanted, Harry just shrugged and said he was welcoming him back to the house and said if Harry ever needed to talk, he would be there to listen.

* * *

That night's dinner was the best Harry had had since the end of the year feast before summer, although that feast wasn't nearly as cheerful then the Weasley's. That feast had been in honor of the departed Cedric Diggory, who was murdered by Voldemort. Thinking about the blank stare on Cedric's face still gave Harry the chills; he had been there when it happened, he and Cedric had just taken the Triwizard Tournament cup together, on Harry's insistence, and ended up in a graveyard somewhere. Someone had transformed the trophy into a portkey intending to take Harry right to Voldemort. Unfortunately, Cedric had grabbed the cup too and lost his life upon arriving to the graveyard. To make matters worse for Harry, he not only had to watch a fellow classmate die, but he also saw the rise of lord Voldemort, dueled with him, and saw ghosts of people that Lord Voldemort had killed not so long ago.

"Harry. Are you alright?" Mrs. Weasley asked shaking Harry out of his thoughts.

Harry blinked and looked up, "Um, yeah. Dinner's great Mrs. Weasley." He smiled a little, thinking about Cedric always seemed to upset him more then Harry would have liked. He still felt it was his fault that Cedric had died. 'If I hadn't of insisted we take the cup together, Cedric would still be alive.' He thought.

He shook away those thoughts and looked around the table realizing that everyone was looking at him funny. Harry blushed and stood, "May I be excused?" once Mr. Weasley nodded he made his way across the kitchen to the back door, uncomfortably aware that all eyes were following him. He pushed through the door and down the steps to stand in the middle of the backyard; he turned his face upwards to see the stars that shone brightly in the night sky.

There were so many dancing across the sky; they were so beautiful, so peaceful. His time with Greg had been spent most nights gazing at the sky and stars, Harry always felt most relaxed when he was watching the stars.

"How's it going with the Weasels?" a voice asked from the shadows in front of him.

Harry sighed but his gaze remained focused on the sky when he answered, "The Weasley's Jessica, don't call them the Weasels. And fine, everything is going fine."

She walked closer to him, into the light so he could see her, "Is that why you're standing in the backyard all by yourself staring up at the stars?"

This time Harry did look at her he tore his eyes from the sky and stared at her concerned face. "I was just thinking about Cedric that's all."

Jessica nodded, "So they remind you of Cedric and what happened?" she gave a small bitter laugh, "Being around my friends reminds me of things that happened as well."

Harry raised a curious eyebrow, neither she nor Greg had told Harry what had happened to get her kicked out of Beauxbatons, he had asked Greg but Greg had insisted it wasn't his secret to tell. "What did happen? Why were you kicked out of Beauxbatons?"

She shuffled her feet and refused to look at him, "I'll tell you. But not today, not now, but sometime I will tell you." She smirked, "At least it wasn't in the paper like yours, must really suck being famous."

He nodded; a little disappointed she wouldn't tell him, and closed his eyes raising his face to the stars once more. "It does, did you see the articles Rita Skeeter printed last year? All that junk about me and Hermione, and about me crying during an interview when she asked about my parents. That was crap and Mrs. Weasley believed it and was so cold towards Hermione after, it really was kind of funny." He gave a chuckle, remembering Hermione's face when she only received a tiny Easter egg from Mrs. Weasley.

"Who are you talking too?" Ron's voice came from behind him. Harry's eyes snapped open and looked at the spot Jessica had been, she was gone and Harry could just make out the dark form of a wolf darting into the trees on the east side of the Burrow.

Harry grinned and turned to Ron, "Just talking to myself. What are you doing out here?"

Ron shrugged, "I came out to check on you, make sure you were alright. You seemed upset at dinner, everyone noticed." He gave Harry a questioning look. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine." Harry answered; he turned his back to Ron and stared again at the sky. He knew what would happen if he talked to Ron about Cedric; Ron would get uncomfortable and insist that it wasn't Harry's fault that Cedric had died. Jessica, on the other hand, would tell him it was entirely his fault and that he should get over it. Harry smiled; in a way, that was what he wanted to hear.

"You sure? You seemed so distracted at dinner, what were you thinking about?" Ron carried on.

Harry turned around again, 'Alright Ron you asked for it.' He smiled grimly and asked, "You sure you want to know?" when Ron nodded hesitantly he continued, "I was thinking about Cedric and his untimely death."

Just as Harry had thought, Ron became noticeably uncomfortable; he twisted his fingers and scratched the back of his neck, "T-that wasn't your f-fault you know. You didn't..." he stopped when Harry raised a hand to stop him.

"I know, listen I'm tired. Let's go inside and head to bed." He moved around Ron and crossed the yard; he held the back door open and let Ron enter first. Before following he turned to the woods, on the edge of them was Jessica, she waved and smiled when he waved back. He watched her turn back into her wolf animagus form and trot away.

* * *

'Three a.m.,' Harry thought as he rolled over on his cot for the tenth time that night, 'This is ridiculous, I've been trying to get to sleep for hours'

Angrily he threw back the covers and tiptoed to the bedroom door, careful not to wake Ron. Closing the door behind him he descended the stairs and walked into the kitchen, to his surprise someone was already sitting at the table.

"Greg, what are you doing here?" Harry asked sitting at the table so he was facing his mentor.

Greg smiled and looked at Harry worry evident in his eyes, "Jessica said you were having a rough time, I thought I should come and check up on you."

Sighing Harry laid his head on his pillowed arms, "I have only been here a few hours, just give me some time to adjust."

"Alright," Greg abruptly stood obviously catching on to the fact that Harry wasn't going to say anything else about it. "Well don't forget you have to train everyday but don't let the Weasley's catch you, they might start to piece things together." He moved to leave.

"Wait, what do I tell them about where I have been? If I know this family like I think I do then they won't give up until they get an answer."

Greg stepped into the fireplace, "I don't know, just make something up." He answered with a shrug. Before Harry could question him, he disappeared in the green flames of the floo fire.

* * *

"Come on dears, it's time to get up. We have to go to Diagon Alley for your school things." Mrs. Weasley called through Ron's door rapping on it sharply with her knuckles.

Harry groaned and rolled onto his stomach pulling his pillow down firmly over his head. Ever since Greg's visit a week before, he had been up way before any of the other Weasley's and training in the woods every morning. They were taking there toll because Harry was always tired. Normally he would have gotten use to the routine but he wasn't sleeping well at night either, so that didn't help.

"Come on Harry." His best friends groggy voice sounded muffled through his pillow. "We have to get moving, why are you so tired all the time?"

Harry climbed out of bed and grabbed some clothes, "Because your snoring keeps me up all damn night." He cracked with a grin before stepping into the bathroom. He didn't even change in front of Ron anymore, for fear he might see his scars and bruises. He stuck his head out the door to look at Ron with a mischievous grin, "You really should do something about that, I'm surprised it doesn't keep everyone up at night." He laughed and closed the bathroom door to avoid being hit by the pillow Ron had thrown.

Pulling off his pajama, top Harry gazed at his now well toned chest. The scars were still clearly visible as were the bruises, especially the deep gash right across from his left shoulder all the way to the ribs on his right. It was still deep red and certainly did still hurt from when Greg had slashed him a week before he arrived at the Burrow. It should have healed over by now but the intense training sessions Harry did in the mornings kept reopening it.

A horrified expression covered his face when he heard a small gasp from the bathroom door. He spun and came face to face with Ginny and Hermione, their toothbrushes clattered to the floor as they stared at his wounded torso.

Quick as lightening he threw on his sweater, "What are you guy's doing here, I thought you would be at breakfast by now?" he asked trying to remain clam. 'Maybe they haven't seen anything; they were just shocked to see the bathroom was already in use.' He reasoned with himself.

But by the expressions on their faces, he could tell they had. "W-what happened to you?" Ginny whispered her eyes showed confusion and fear.

Harry sighed dejectedly, 'Great, this is just great. Just what I need, the Weasley's and Sirius finding out about my scars and bruises.'

"Listen you guy's its really no big deal; don't make a big deal out of it." He pleaded pulling the horrified girls into the small bathroom and closing the door.

Hermione's shock turned to anger, "No big deal," she shrieked, "Harry, have you got any idea how bad you look?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "Gee, thanks. Yes, Hermione I know how bad I look, I have to look at myself in the mirror, you know. Can you two please not tell anyone, please?"

"You expect us to keep it secret, why didn't you tell anyone? Does Ron even know? Is that why you left your Uncles?"

Harry's eyes filled with rage, "He is not my uncle," He spat, "Never has been never will be." Harry hated Vernon, always had, he never treated Harry very well and Harry had finally had enough and spoke up to Vernon. Vernon had been really angry about that and spat out horrible lies about his parents, that was the last straw for Harry and swore from that moment on that he had no uncle. "And no, Ron doesn't know, and I would prefer to keep it that way."

Hermione shook her head, "No, I can't keep this a secret. We have to tell Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley. You could have internal bleeding or something." She stated while Ginny nodded her head vigorously.

Harry was about to argue again when the door opened to reveal Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley. They looked confused for a second at the sight of the three jammed into the tiny bathroom.

"What's going on in here?" Mr. Weasley asked a baffled look on his face. He looked at Harry's angry face to the girls' watery eyes. "Ginny what happened?"

Ginny bit her lip, she couldn't keep Harry's secret, and she had to tell her parents and get to the bottom of what happened to him. She would have spoken except she felt Harry's body tense behind her, she couldn't betray him, she liked him too much.

Lucky for Ginny she didn't have too for Hermione decided to spill the beans. "We walked in here to do our teeth, but when we opened the door Harry was already in here with his sweater off," she blushed slightly before continuing, "He has, on his chest and back, he's covered in bruises and cuts." She blurted.

Mrs. Weasley's eyes widened, "What!" she cried ushering the three out into the hall.

Harry groaned, 'Great, thanks Hermione.' He tried to calm the hysterical Mrs. Weasley down, "It's nothing really, I...I fell down a hill, that's all." Harry groaned inwardly knowing they would never buy that, and sure enough.

"Yeah right," Hermione snorted crossing her arms over her chest, "But why don't you show them and let them decide for themselves."

Harry shot her a look that could have melted steel, "It's really not that bad." he trailed off at the stern looks on Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley's faces, he knew he wouldn't win against them. "Fine," he pulled his sweater over his head and off, and then waited for the tirade to begin.

Ron's mom and dad gasped when they saw him, and to add Harry's disposition even more George, Fred, Ron and Sirius chose that moment to join everyone else.

'Why does this always happen to me?' Harry thought as more gasps and cusses were exchanged between his audience. He threw his sweater back on and waited impatiently for their questions.

"WHAT IN GODS NAME HAPPENED?" Sirius yelled trying to lift Harry's sweater again to inspect the wounds. He gave up when Harry batted his hand away the fifth time.

"I was attacked by a porcupine." Harry cracked dryly.

Ron looked confused, "I don't think a porcupine could have done that." The crowd in the hallway all shot him 'you have got to be kidding,' looks. He went beet red and mumbled something.

Mr. Weasley looked at Harry, who was avoiding everyone's eyes, "Harry what really happened?"

Harry racked his mind for an answer, and then he thought of one, "It was my Uncle Vernon. He beat me so I left." That took care of two of his three problems, why he had left the Dursley's and what had happened to his body. The only one left was where he had gone, but he would figure that out later. Harry sobbed, "That's why I left; I couldn't stay there any longer."

Ginny looked at him suspiciously while Sirius hugged him close, "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Harry stopped sobbing, 'damn now what?' he asked himself. Then the answer came to him, "You all have so much to deal with already, I didn't want to burden you further. I know that you're going to say, and I know I should have told I wasn't thinking straight with all the stuff on my mind. Voldemort's return, Ced...and other stuff. I'm sorry." He whispered meekly, 'Damn I am good!' he mentally congratulated himself.

"I'll kill that bas..." Ron was cut off by a stern look from his father, "I mean I'll kill that jerk!"

"Now, now Ron we all want to kill him, so get in line." Sirius growled.

Harry glanced around at all the angry faces, Ginny was staring at him in disbelief. He shrugged a little at her a small smile playing on his lips.

Ginny shook her head sadly and gave him a 'tell the truth' look. When Harry said nothing to anyone, she turned on her heel and stomped away.

Harry sighed; Ginny knew he was being dishonest. He would continue to let the Weasley's, Sirius, and Hermione think that Vernon had done it, but he would make sure they did nothing about it.

"I want you all to promise me right now that you'll forget it ever happened and leave my un.I mean Vernon alone. Can you promise me that?" Harry asked looking at everyone with pleading eyes.

"What!" Sirius yelled crossing his arms over his chest, "After what he did to you your still willing to forget it ever happened. Why?"

"B-because he's still my Uncle and I love him, just drop it, it won't happen again. He was going through a hard time and he'd been drinking. He apologized the next day, just leave him alone. That's another reason why I didn't tell any of you, I knew you would want to confront him about it." Harry explained eyes cast to the ground, 'I am sooo good at this.'

Mr. Weasley pulled the group into Ron's room, while Harry listened at the door. "If he says he doesn't want us to do anything we should respect that." Mr. Weasley said.

Harry grinned, they were so gullible. "I don't think Vernon did it." He heard Ron argue. "The cuts and bruises look too fresh to have been inflicted over a month ago."

Harry was taken aback, out of all the people he thought might figure it out; he never in a million years would have suspected it would have been Ron.

"I agree with Ron, they look fresh. He must have gotten them when he was missing." Hermione decided.

"But why would he lie to us, and keep all these secrets from us?" Sirius asked as he hit, (what Harry thought might be Ron's desk, after all, the door was closed and he doesn't have x-ray vision.), in frustration.

"Who knows, but I think the best thing to do is..." Mrs. Weasley started.

"Beat the information out of him?" Fred asked with a laugh.

"No, we will wait until he is ready to talk to us. Until he is ready, we will not badger him, and pretend to believe the Vernon story he told us. Understood?"

Harry heard mumbled 'yes's' and moved back to the spot he was in when they had left him. A second later Ron's door opened and the group filed out fake smiles plastered on all of their faces.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands together and moved to the stairs, "Let's eat breakfast so we can get to Diagon Alley." She walked down the stairs everyone following except Harry who stayed to finish changing.

'Oh well, so they know Vernon didn't do it. At least Mrs. Weasley is keeping everyone off my back for a while,' Harry thought as he finished changing and headed downstairs to where everyone else was.

* * *

What do you think? Should I continue? Your reviews will keep this story going. No flames please.


	3. Diagon alley and outbursts

I'm glad you all like my story. Thank you all for your reviews. Due to popular demand I have decided to post this chapter a few Days early. enjoy!

* * *

They were all seated at the table eating breakfast when Harry took a seat next to Hermione.

Mrs. Weasley placed nine sausages, ten pieces of bacon, and four pieces of toast on his plate before sitting down to eat her own. That was a good thing about the Weasley household; you never went hungry.

"I thought Ginny, Hermione and Ron already got their school supplies." Sirius said, starting off the conversation as he glanced at Harry every ten seconds.

"They did," Mrs. Weasley agreed, "But Fred and George don't have their supplies and I thought it best to take the whole family out today. "Harry dear, have you gotten your supplies?"

Harry nodded, "Yes, I picked everything up when I was in London."

When breakfast was finished Harry, Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Hermione, Ginny and Ron gathered around the fireplace.

Harry grabbed some floo powder, out of the leather pouch he wore attached to his belt, and stepped into the fireplace. Throwing the floo powder down he said "Diagon Alley" and disappeared.

One by one, the others followed and soon the whole group was in the Leaky cauldron.

After a quick stop to Gringotts Fred, George, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny went on their way, leaving the trio to themselves.

"Where shall we go first?" Hermione asked casting an yet another anxious glance at Harry.

"Nowhere if you keep looking at me like that." Harry snapped rolling his eyes, "I'm not about to burst into flames anytime soon, Hermione."

"Sorry, you just look so different." She retaliated lamely; she had really been thinking about the time when Harry had been missing, she wanted all the answers he wouldn't give. Where he was? What or who had hurt him like that? Why had he disappeared?

"How about we go to Quality Quidditch supplies and check out the latest brooms?" Suggested Ron already dragging his friends toward the shop. When they arrived, Ron was a little disappointed that the Firebolt was still the fastest and newest broom.

But he quickly recovered from that disappointment when he saw that Chudley cannons supplies were on sale and he could finally afford the Chudley Cannons pajama's he had always wanted.

Harry was busy checking out the snitch's when a hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

"My god, it really is you, Potter," Draco Malfoy drawled grinning like a child at Christmas, "I will have so much more ammo when I make fun of you now. What in gods name happened to your hair, a potion gone wrong?" he laughed.

"Shove off Malfoy," Harry snapped glaring at his rival.

"Yea, get lost you great sod." Ron said taking his rightful place next to Harry. "I like it and so does everyone else, that's all that matters to him."

"Actually," Harry began murderous eyes still fixed on Draco, "I like my hair, and that's what counts."

"Good on you, Harry." Hermione smiled joining her friends, "That's all that should matter, you should like it."

Draco laughed cruelly, "Enjoy your day, because who knows it might be your last. Just ask Cedric Diggory." He turned and left the shop laughing.

Harry couldn't believe anybody could be that cruel, Draco's words had hit him like a three ton truck. They were almost enough to knock him off his feet. His insides turned to ice and his skin turned as white as Hedwig's feathers.

No one said anything, since they were all too shocked. Finally after what seemed like hours but was merely seconds Ron spoke.

"That stupid git, imagine anyone being so cruel as to say a thing like that. Don't worry about it Harry, we all know you did nothing wrong and that's what matters." He sighed when Harry said nothing, then trying to lighten the mood he added, "Why don't we get some ice cream from Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor."

Hermione nodded and she and Harry followed Ron to Florean Fortescue's parlor where they all had chocolate sundaes.

After an hour or two of wandering around Diagon Alley Hermione, Ron and Harry went back to the Leaky Cauldron grabbed a couple of butterbeers and waited for the rest of the group to show up.

* * *

When Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Harry returned back to the burrow Dumbledore was waiting.

"Ah, Harry. I am pleased to see you are alright." He said standing from the chair; he had been seated in. "I wonder if we could take a walk and talk?"

Harry groaned inwardly, now it was Dumbledore's turn to grill him on his whereabouts. "Sure, why not."

Dumbledore led Harry outside and it was a few moments before either spoke.

"Harry." the old wizard began rubbing his chin, "I know that you cannot say where you were these last few weeks, or what you were doing. But I do believe I have uncovered some of the truth myself, I however am not going to reveal what I have learned but would like to ask you one thing. May I?"

Harry nodded, he hadn't expected anyone to have inkling as to what was going on, but if Dumbledore thought he knew then he should humor him.

"If my suspicions are correct you should be able to answer this question rather easily. Harry do you know anything about a man named Greg Talon?"

Harry's face remained expressionless as he stared at his headmaster, "No, sir I have never heard of such a man. Why do you ask?"

Dumbledore smiled, "Just curiosity my boy. Well carry on with your day, I have to run." With that he apparated away.

Once Dumbledore had gone Harry headed back to the house, 'how did he know about Greg?' he asked himself stopping on the porch and falling into the chair that was there. 'Greg assured me that no one knew his name. That's why his name wasn't mentioned in the history books. Dumbledore is getting too close to the truth, I have to tell Greg.'

"Harry, is everything alright?" Ron asked coming onto the porch followed closely by Hermione. "You look like you saw a ghost or something."

"Everything's alright Ron, I'm just tired." Harry said standing and giving his friends a smile. "Is dinner ready yet?"

Ron smiled happy to see that Harry was alright, "Mom said it should be done in a few minutes. What did Dumbledore want?"

"Same thing as everyone else; he wanted to know where I was before I arrived at your house. I told him the same thing I told everyone else; I can't say." Harry answered entering the burrow and into the living room. He plopped down on the couch leaned back and closed his eyes.

Ron sat next to Harry; Hermione took the seat across from him. They sat in silence for a minute or so before Mrs. Weasley came in.

"Come on dears," she smiled, "its dinner time. We're having roast beef tonight in order to celebrate your leaving for Hogwarts tomorrow." With that said she went back into the kitchen and started filling everyone's plates.

"Are you coming, Harry?" Ron asked as he watched Hermione walk into the kitchen.

"Yeah, give me a minute." His best friend answered making his way to the stairs. On his way up to Ron's room, he ran into Fred and George. "Hi guy's, I've been meaning to ask you how your joke shop idea is working out. Good I hope?"

Fred beamed and threw an arm around Harry's shoulders leading him back downstairs, "It's going great Harry, thanks to the money you gave us. Think you'll ever enter another Triwizard tournament? We could use more of the prize money."

George elbowed Fred hard when he saw Harry's face drop and then harden, it was obvious that Harry would probably never talk about the Triwizard tournament again, or Cedric. It was also obvious he didn't want to have anyone mention it either.

Freed realizing what he had done quickly apologized, "Sorry Harry, I didn't mean to remind you of Cedric and what happened at school last year."

Harry shrugged, "That's in the past it doesn't bother me any more. You don't have to apologize Fred." He removed Fred's arm from his shoulders and turned to head back up the stairs, "Tell your mom I'll be right down."

George shook his head at Fred while they watched Harry disappear into Ron's room. "Nice work genius. You had to mention that didn't you, of all the things we could have talked about you chose that."

* * *

A short while later Harry entered the kitchen. He had been writing a quick letter to Greg letting him know of his conversation with Dumbledore. After sending it off with Hedwig he had realized it was almost a half hour in to dinner so quickly headed downstairs.

When he arrived in the kitchen, it was empty, only a plate of food was left on the table. Sounds of laughter and talking floated into the kitchen from the living room. Harry figured they must have retreated there after eating.

Harry sat at the table and ate in silence, the silence didn't last long as Ron and Hermione burst into the kitchen laughing.

"I told you I heard him come down the stairs." Ron crowed sitting across from Harry and sticking his tongue out at Hermione.

Hermione rolled her eyes and sat next to Harry, "Your sooo mature Ron. How are you feeling Harry? Are you feeling any better?"

"Excuse me?" He asked confused.

"Fred and George said that you said you weren't feeling very good, they said you were pale." Ron responded, glancing quickly at Hermione.

"Oh? I mean, OH! Yes, I wasn't feeling well; I just had a little lie down. I'm feeling better now, thanks." Harry said. 'They must have mistaken my fatigue for illness. At least they gave me an excuse.'

Ron nodded with a small smile; you could tell he thought there was more to the story. They sat in silence again.

"Oh, this is ridiculous!" Hermione blurted out suddenly. "Harry, we want the truth. No Ron I will not be quiet," she snapped waving off Ron's attempts to silence her.

"What are you...?" Harry began a little surprised at Hermione's out burst. He glanced nervously at Ron who was glaring at Hermione.

"Hermione, mom said we were to leave Harry be." Ron growled clenching his fists under the table.

"I'm sick of it Ron!" she yelled back standing so fast she knocked over her chair. This caused everyone from the living room to walk in to see what was going on. "Harry, your our best friend so I'm going to tell you this. You have been acting weird ever since you got here, you lie, and you're always tired. You sneak off into the woods very early in the morning which is probably why you're tired. You've changed, and not for the better. You hardly talk to anyone anymore, your keeping secrets from me and Ron. We're your best friends, or at least we used to be."

Now Harry was angry, "What the hell do you mean by that? Are you saying you don't want to be my friends anymore?"

"We aren't the ones ruining the friendship. You are. We don't know who you are anymore. Ever since the Triwizard tournament and Cedric..."Hermione argued.

"Don't go there," Harry interrupted fiercely, "This had nothing to do with him. So I've changed, big deal. I'm growing up, everyone does it. And when have I lied to you?"

"Just now for one, Fred and George never said you said you weren't feeling well. You lied about that." Hermione sniffed.

"Well geez, warm up the electric chair for me then."

"What's an electric chair?" Ginny asked her dad quietly. She didn't say anything else when her father shushed her.

"You also lied and said your uncle beat you up. We all knew that wasn't true. What really did happen, uh Harry? What really injured you that badly? And don't lie this time."

Harry shook his head, 'this is ridiculous, and I don't have to take this.' He glanced around the room they all looked a little angry, at Hermione no doubt, but they also seemed interested in his answer.

"What do you want me to say? You want to know where I have been, what happened to me, well I already told you I can't tell you. You guys are my family and I would tell you all of my secrets anytime, but this time, well this time it would be best if I didn't. So I'm sorry, but if your going to ignore me for the rest of my life if I don't tell you, then, that's a chance I have to take." Casting one last glance at his 'family' Harry shook his head and crossed to the backdoor; throwing it open, he strode into the moon filled yard and headed toward the forest for some time alone. He had to think, god how he wanted to tell them everything. But it was too dangerous, for them, Jessica, Greg and even all of mankind. A great evil was coming, and the world needed Jessica and him to defeat it, or die trying.

* * *

What do you think, should I keep going? What do you readers think of a Jessica/Harry coupling? Please review.


	4. Voldie's plan

Well here's chapter four everyone. I promise you will find out everything about Greg Talon and Jessica Lock in later chapters. Well enjoy this chapter! Sorry this chapter is so short but I want specific pages in the next chapter. Does that make sense? Oh well.

* * *

Across England in a dark cemetery, Voldemort talked with his Death Eaters and Wormtail.

"Is everything ready?" he asked of Wormtail a cruel smile spreading across his snake like lips.

"Y-yes sir, the week of the Rebirth should go as planned." Wormtail stuttered, he was, and always had been, scared of his master, the dark lord, Voldemort.

"Excellent," he turned to his followers, the Death Eaters, "As you know I am at full strength after being resurrected by Wormtail, and Mister Potter. But yet again, I have failed to kill the little horror, and I need him dead before the Rebirth begins."

One of the Death Eaters slowly raised his hand, after a nod from Voldemort he asked, "What exactly is the rebirth, oh great one?"

"The Rebirth is the week in June that I will become invincible. All throughout that week, I will have certain tasks to do in order to prove my worthiness of becoming indestructible. Once I have completed them the Egyptian god, Am-Heh, lord of the underworld and devourer of souls, will reward me with immortality."

The Death Eaters nodded understandingly. Then one asked the question no one else dared to.

"What does Harry Potter have to do with this?"

Voldemort hissed angrily, "If anyone is going to figure out my plan it will be him, and in case he does, he probably won't, but if he does we all know he will try and stop me. Doing anything and everything he can, the ceremony cannot be interrupted. It has to go off without a hitch otherwise the next time I will be able to do it will be in two-thousand years. The planets align only once every two-thousand years and the aligned planets are needed for this spell."

The Death Eaters all nodded to Voldemort and each other understandingly. One Death Eater stepped forward, shoulders thrown back and his chest puffed out proudly.

"We will do anything to ensure your plan succeeds. Just tell us our assignments and we will get busy, Lord Voldemort." Mr. Malfoy (Draco Malfoy's father) stated bowing deeply in great respect.

Voldemort smiled walking down the line of Death Eaters, pausing to look at each individual. "All I need you to do, my friends and followers, is make sure Harry Potter is dead before the ceremony. I don't care how, when or where. Just kill him, for if he ruins my plans, you will all suffer the consequences."

* * *

The black form darted through the forest with incredible speed, when it neared the forest edge it slowed to a trot before stopping completely. The black shape was a beautiful black panther he stood there for several minutes before starting to change. The black fur disappeared the yellow eyes were replaced with green and in seconds flat, the panther had turned back into Harry Potter.

Harry sighed and headed back to the Weasley house, a twig snapping caused him to spin around. He snapped his fingers, and his scabbard and sword appeared on his back. Pulling the sword from its case his eyes scanned the forest, his blade held in a defensive position in front of him.

That's when he heard the soft rustling of leaves to his left behind a bush, he stood still waiting for a second before swinging around and slashing his sword into the shrub. His sword hit another with the familiar metallic CLANG.

"Christ Harry, you nearly took my head off." Jessica said standing up and replacing her sword in its covering.

Harry sighed with relief and put his own sword away; snapping his fingers, the scabbard and sword disappeared once again. "What are you doing here, Jessica?"

"I came to check up on you," she replied angrily, snapping away her weapon as well. Then added more kindly, "How are things going at the Weasleys?"

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Not well, Hermione snapped, she told me how different I was. And that she didn't think we should be friends anymore."

"She said that?" Jessica asked genuinely surprised, "That doesn't sound like her, at least from what you told me she was like."

"Well that isn't exactly what she said, her exact words were 'We're your best friends, or at least we used to be.'" He shook his head, "But I got the message, basically she was saying that if I don't tell she and Ron what's going on, then she won't be my friend anymore."

"That's rough, what a predicament. What are you going to do? Are you going to tell them? I know how much you care about them, how much you've wanted to tell them..."

Harry bit his lip, 'I can't tell them, Greg would be furious. But what if they happened to find out on their own. Sure Greg would be upset for a day or two. But he wouldn't blame me and my friends would know the truth.'

"I can't tell them, but if they found out on their own, Greg couldn't be mad at me for that." Harry grinned his eyes sparkling with mischief.

Jessica smiled too, "Sounds like the boy-who-lived has a plan."

"You up for it?" he asked.

Jessica laughed rubbing her hands together, "What's the plan, oh great one."

* * *

Many, many chapters later, you will all find out how Dumbledore knows about Greg, and what Snape had to do with the story. I haven't decided if there will be and couples in this story, but if there are it will definitely be a Harry/Jessica. Thanks for all the reviews, I appreciate every one of them and hope you write me more. Please Review. Can someone please tell me what a Mary- sue is? I know that I probably sound stupid but I have no idea what a Mary- sue is, lol.


	5. Trolls and clubs

Here's another chapter for your enjoyment. Have fun reading it!

* * *

"They should be arriving any minute; I accidentally left my homework assignment, about The Mystic Knights, on the kitchen table before they went downstairs to talk in the kitchen. I watched them read it and everything. Now I know that Hermione has read every book in the wizarding world, so I rewrote the paper so it included stuff that wasn't in the text books. Knowing Hermione, she'll figure it out in no time. Are you ready?" Harry asked Jessica, as he stretched in preparation for the fight.

"Check that, I gave them the note telling them to meet you here in this clearing at midnight." Jessica confirmed, stifling a yawn.

"And the monster? Did you manage to bring one with you?" when Jessica nodded he asked, "And what exactly am I going to fight?"

"You'll see, you have to wait as well, just so you look genuinely surprised."

Harry didn't like the sound of that, he thought he should know before hand to prepare himself, and was about to comment on it when Jessica transformed into her wolf form and darted into the forest.

"Harry?" He heard his best friend Ron call from the opposite end of the clearing.

"Over here Ron, Hermione!" he yelled waving them over.

"What did you want to see me about?" Harry asked.

At the exact same time Ron and Hermione said, "What did you want to see us about?"

Harry looked at his best friends confused, "What are you talking about? I got a note from you two telling me to meet you here at midnight."

Hermione shook her head vigorously, "No you left us a note, and we thought you were finally going to tell us what is going on with you lately."

Harry frowned, "First of all I never left you a note, and I already told you I can't tell you where I was this summer."

"Yeah, well we saw your paper on the Mystic Knights." Hermione said crossing her arms over her chest.

"So?"

"Harry, I have read all the books that mentioned the Mystic Knights and most of the stuff you wrote for your assignment isn't in the books. That can only mean one thing; you were training to be a Mystic Knight."

Harry laughed nervously, "That's crazy, the last known Mystic Knight died before Voldemort's time, if I was training to be a Mystic Knight as you say, who would teach me?"

Hermione frowned a little, "I haven't figured that out yet, but I know the Mystic Knights have something to do with the changes you've underwent."

"Maybe we should worry about that later," Ron said glancing around nervously, "Right now we should try and figure out who would want us in this clearing in the middle of the night. Because if none of us sent the notes, who did?"

'That's your cue Jessica, bring on my opponent.'

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP! THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!

"What's that?" Hermione cried, spinning on spot to look in every direction. She screamed when she saw what was making the tremendous noise. It was a huge mountain troll and it was heading straight for them.

"What the...?" Harry gasped, 'that's not so bad, and I don't have to unleash my true power to deal with this guy. Sure he's 50ft tall and probably weighs a couple tons, but I can take him easily.'

Hermione and Ron were backing up now straight into Harry, then all three were backing up. They stopped when they heard the familiar; THUMP, THUMP, THUMP! THUMP, THUMP, THUMP! Coming from behind them.

The trio spun around and saw, what must have been the other trolls twin brother coming towards them from behind. More loud THUMPS informed the friends that more trolls had entered the clearing. In seconds Harry, Ron, and Hermione were surrounded, one troll was blocking each of the four exits from the large clearing.

'O boy, I am definitely going to have to use my full power for this job. When Jessica does something, she does it well. Well if I can't do it myself, Jessica will jump in and help.'

"H-Harry, what do w-we do?" Ron stuttered his pale face clashing horribly with his red hair. He was shaking with fright and clutching to Harry and Hermione's arms with crushing force.

"Just stay behind me, I'll handle this." Harry ordered, prying his friends off his arms he stepped forward. When Hermione made a noise of protest he turned to look at her with pleading eyes, "You said before that I'm trained to be a Mystic Knight, you were right. Not only was I trained to be one, I am one, officially. So let me handle this, obviously, whoever sent us here was planning a trap, and right now, I'm the only defense. Let me do this, you have to trust me!"

Hermione hesitated before nodding in agreement followed almost immediately by Ron's nod of support.

Harry gave them a reassuring smile and stepped forward toward the troll in front of him. "Leave now, while you still can." He said giving the trolls a sporting chance.

"They don't understand you Harry. Mountain trolls are really dumb." Hermione pointed out.

Harry nodded, "Fine then, here we go." Closing his eyes, he concentrated on one thing, unleashing the power of the Mystic Knight within him. An explosion of light surrounded Harry, when the light cleared Hermione and Ron got a look at their first Mystic Knight.

Harry was now wearing a long gold robe, over a white turtleneck and white pants (his usual clothing is black turtle neck and dark blue jeans) that seemed to sparkle and glow. Across his back was his sword, nestled comfortably in its scabbard, and his head was now hidden beneath some sort of protective metal helmet that covered his face and stretched all the way down to his collar bone.

Hermione told Ron that the helmet was to protect a Mystic Knights head and identity. She had read that fact in a history book several months ago.

All four mountain trolls looked taken aback, but only for a second or two. With a ferocious roar, the first mountain troll swung his big club at Harry.

Harry dove away from the club as it hit the ground with a tremendous THUMP. Rolling out of the way of another club swing, he waited lying on his back sword in hand. The huge troll stood over him raised his club and brought it down hard; Harry rolled away at the last second and threw himself onto the retreating weapon.

"Why doesn't he use magic, Mystic Knights are supposed to be powerful." Ron questioned watching his best friend scrabble up the club.

Hermione nodded glancing at the three trolls watching and waiting for their chance, "That's true a Mystic Knight is very powerful, both magic wise and muscle wise. But a Mystic Knight only uses magic when he has too. They believe a victory obtained by magic isn't an honorable one. They try to avoid using magic in fights."

Harry, who had been holding on to the trolls club as he swung it around, finally managed to crawl up the trolls arm and onto his shoulders. Raising the sword above his head Harry swung with all his might, the blade connected with the troll's neck and swept through to the other side with ease.

Hermione and Ron grimaced as they watched the severed head fall to the ground and roll into a bush.

"That was gross," Hermione stated going a little green in the face. Ron only nodded in agreement.

Harry jumped to the ground, and dove out of the way of the headless body that nearly fell on top of him.

The loss of, what Harry thought to be their leader, enraged the three remaining trolls. With a great roar, all three charged.

"Jessica!" Harry yelled his head snapping to where she had been, "A little help here!"

Hermione and Ron looked at each other confused, glancing toward where Harry was looking they saw a flash of light and then they were flying?

"What the..?" Hermione questioned, looking down she saw another Mystic Knight. This one was female and she had grabbed both Ron and Hermione and jumped into a tree on the other side of the clearing.

The girl dropped them on the tree branch saying, "You'll be safe here, just try not to call attention to yourselves."

Neither Hermione nor Ron could tell what she looked like, because she too wore a protective metal helmet that covered her face, but they both guessed this was the girl they had saw with Harry at the Leaky Cauldron.

Jessica jumped down from the tree and ran over to Harry, who was surrounded by three very angry trolls, pulling her sword from her scabbard she asked "Need some help?"

"Yeah, god Jess. Couldn't you have just sent one, why did you have to give me four to fight against?"

Jessica turned to him, "Sorry to disappoint you Harry. But these aren't what I was going to pit you up against. My monster never showed up. This isn't my doing."

"What? Ahhh," startled he barely managed to dive out of the path of the trolls club. "Well then who the hell sent these?"

Jessica shrugged and formed a fire sphere in her hand; the sphere grew until it was the size of a dishwasher, and then threw it at a trolls head.

The troll roared in agony and dropped to the ground, he rolled on the grass trying to put the fire on his head out. When he finally managed to Jessica was already standing on his chest, she cocked her head to the side and then, quick as lightening, she plunged her sword deep into his chest

The troll groaned loudly as the blade pierced his heart. Jessica watched him die then turned back to help Harry with the other two.

"Harry, break the ice!" Jessica called to her acquaintance.

Harry seemed confused for a moment then he understood, he nodded at Jessica and watched while she drew the other troll away from him.

"Alright, you next." Harry announced pointing at the troll in front of him. Harry moved to the side when the troll tried again to crush him with its club. Before the troll could withdraw its club, Harry raised his weapon and sliced off its hand.

The troll growled in pain and stumbled back, Harry took this opportunity to form an ice sphere in his hand. When it grew to the size of a small car, he threw it at the troll.

Almost instantly the troll froze over, he looked like an ice sculpture that sparkled in the moon light.

Sighing Harry placed his sword back in its casing and picked up the trolls club. He reared back and hit the frozen monster as hard as he could. A sharp cracking sound filled the air and the ice covered opponent started to crumble. It was quite a sight to see, the troll was breaking off piece by piece, and each chunk of ice sparkled in the moonlight. To Harry it looked like a fireworks show.

Then, remembering Jessica, Harry turned back to the other troll. Jessica was already standing triumphantly over it, watching Harry's troll and looking fascinated.

"Cool that looked incredible. You alright Harry?" Jessica asked snapping back to the present.

"Yeah, you?" Harry replied. Jessica merely nodded. "Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"I put them in that tree over there." She pointed to the two frightened Hogwarts students; they had already climbed down from the tree and were heading over to the Mystic Knights.

"Harry, mate that was brilliant!" Ron exclaimed shaking his best friends hand vigorously.

"Thanks Ron. Are you two alright?" The Gryffindor asked of his friends.

Both Hermione and Ron nodded. Harry smiled under the metal mask; he was relieved that his friends weren't hurt.

"Ahem," Jessica cleared her throat.

"Oh right, sorry." Harry apologized, "Ron, Hermione, this is my friend and fellow Mystic Knight, Jessica."

A glow surrounded Jessica and she was back in her usual clothing (black Capri's and a pink tank top) opposed to her Mystic Knight attire (which is the same as Harry's) There was no arguing that Jessica was beautiful, well Ron certainly seemed to think so. He stared at her with a dopey look on his face.

"Nice to meet you." Hermione said kindly, when Ron said nothing she elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ow, I mean, yeah it's nice to meet you. So you and Harry are like partners?" Ron asked rubbing his sore side.

"Yeah, that's right. I've heard a lot about you two." Jessica replied, "I suppose Harry hasn't even mentioned me."

Harry chuckled awkwardly and powered down returning to his normal attire, "Yeah well, I just..."

Jessica laughed, "Don't worry about it Harry. I understand. Besides I think we should focus our attention on who sent those trolls to kill you Harry."

Hermione nodded, "I agree, all we have to work with are those notes." she trailed off seeing the guilty look Harry was sending their way. "What?"

Harry rubbed the back of his neck and looked every where but into his friend's eyes, "Actually, Jessica and I sent those notes. You see it happened this way, Greg Talon, our trainer forbade us to tell anyone that we are Mystic Knights. So Jessica and I set up this plan, I left the assignment on the table purposefully and Jessica sent you the note. The plan was to get you to the clearing, Hermione would have figured it out of course, I would deny it, and Jessica would pit me against a monster. One so powerful I would have to 'unleash' my true powers to stop it."

"The trolls were your doing?" Hermione snapped at Jessica.

Jessica shook her head, "No, I only got a tree troll. They are smaller and less powerful but a good enough excuse to go 'Mystic Knight'. But he never showed, instead someone sent these trolls. Whoever it was wanted him dead. If Harry hadn't of been a Mystic Knight, he would have been powerless and you would all be dead."

"I can think of a couple people who would want me dead," Harry thought aloud, "Voldemort for one, the Malfoy's also swore revenge on me, Peter Pettigrew comes to mind but he's too much of a pansy to try anything."

"I bet it's you-know-who," Ron said.

"We won't know for sure until this guy makes his move again. I suggest you all go back to the Weasleys and get some sleep. I'll take a look around here; see if I can find some clues." Jessica announced in a tone that left no room for argument.

Harry nodded, "Fine; keep me posted on what you find."

With a curt nod, Jessica spun around and jogged into the woods leading away from the Burrow.

* * *

Well, I hope you liked it, and the Ron having a crush on Jessica doesn't last long. After a while, he goes back to drooling over Hermione. Please review I always love to know what you guys and girls think. Any suggestions for later chapters?


	6. Train rides and troublemakers

Thanks for all your great reviews, here's chapter six.

* * *

"Garbe! Did you take care of the Potter problem?" Voldemort questioned his faithful follower.

Garbe cleared his throat nervously, "No, not exactly Lord Voldemort."

Voldemort narrowed his snake like eyes, "What do you mean, 'not exactly'?" he asked standing up behind his desk.

"Ahem, well y-you see." Garbe began glancing nervously around the small office. There was only one way out and that was being blocked by the only other person in the room, Peter Pettigrew (Wormtail). Normally Garbe could have taken him down with one hit, but ever since he got his new metal hand, he was more confident and strong. Besides running would get him nowhere, Voldemort would track him down easily. If he stayed and accepted his punishment, it wouldn't be as harsh then if he ran and was caught.

"Sssspit it out," Voldemort hissed in a sinister way, as he slowly advanced on his devotee. "What happened?"

"That's the thing sir, I don't know what happened. I sent four mountain trolls to find and kill Potter, and return when the job was done. That was hours ago." Garbe said trying to explain why he had failed his master.

"It could just be that they haven't found him yet," Wormtail suggested.

Garbe shook his head, "That's what I thought at first so I went to look for them. I found their bodies in a clearing close to the Weasleys house. Potter, Granger, and the youngest Weasley boy were there in the clearing as well."

"Are you saying Potter defeated four fully grown mountain trolls?" Voldemort bellowed outraged.

"I-I don't think so sir. Potter doesn't have that kind of power. But someone else was there; I think she killed the trolls. H-here I took a picture of her." Garbe hesitated, and then pulled the photo he had taken from his pocket.

Voldemort took the snapshot offered and glanced down at it. It was a picture of a sixteen year old girl; she had black spiked hair with pink tips, and didn't look powerful enough to dispose of four mountain trolls. In fact, she looked like an ordinary teenage girl.

"You're saying that this child took care of the trolls on her own. Are you insane?" Voldemort said with unreserved skepticism.

"All do respect, sir, but this isn't an ordinary child. I followed her after Potter and his friends went back to the Weasley's home. She seemed to be looking for something, anyway, along the way she ran into a tree troll. She took it out with ease sir; I mean that troll never had a chance. One second she was watching him, the next he's dead on the forest floor. It was incredible, Lord Voldemort. If she can defeat a tree troll with ease, who knows what else she can accomplish. Maybe even..."

"Kill four Mountain trolls." Voldemort finished his followers thought. Voldemort remained silent for a few minutes before turning to Wormtail. "Fetch me Goyle, Wormtail."

Wormtail nodded and left the office. Garbe moved to follow.

"Garbe!"

"Yes my lord?" he asked with a bow.

"Good work; I want you to follow Potter and his new friend. Report back to me if something of interest happens. You may go."

"Yes sir, thank you sir."

Voldemort peered once again at the picture Garbe had taken. 'If the girl really is as powerful as Garbe seems to think she is then there could be two who could stop my Rebirth.' He opened the drawer of his rotten old desk and pulled out a picture of Harry Potter. Holding the pictures side by side Voldemort glared at them. 'Both must die!'

* * *

"Hurry up, Harry!" Ron yelled through the bathroom door. "We have to go if we're going to catch the train to Hogwarts." He pounded on the door until Harry opened it and stepped out. "It's about time! What were you doing?"

"My hair, it doesn't spike itself you know. At least not until I'm at Hogwarts; then I can use my magic to spike it."

"Are there spells for that?" Ron asked, because if there were he certainly hadn't heard of any.

Harry laughed and patted his friend on the back, "No Ron, there aren't any normal wizard spells that can be used for stuff like that." He dropped his voice to whisper, in case anyone was in audible range, as they descended the stairs. "I meant I could use my Mystic magic."

"Oh right," Ron smiled sheepishly.

Harry was sure he detected a hint of jealously in his best friends' voice, but decided not to pursue the issue. Ron had always been envious of Harry's reputation as the boy-who-lived; he had always wanted it for himself. Now that Harry was, a Mystic Knight Ron would be more spiteful then ever.

"Come on Harry, we have to go!" Ron yelled.

It was only then that Harry realized he had stopped walking and was now alone in the Burrow's foyer. Shaking himself from his thoughts Harry made his way outside closing the Burrow's door behind him.

'Finally I'm going home to Hogwarts.' Harry thought, with a smile he climbed into the backseat of the Weasleys car.

* * *

Just as Harry was about to board, the train to Hogwarts Mr. Weasley grabbed his arm and pulled him off to the side.

"Mr. Weasley, is something wrong?" Harry questioned, although he already thought he knew what his friends' dad was going to say.

Harry watched the man shift awkwardly glancing in his wife's direction every few seconds. After a minute or two of this routine, Harry grew impatient.

"Mr. Weasley!" Harry snapped, he was beginning to get irritated, "I know what you want to say so allow me. You're going to ask me one more time where I was for half the summer, and then when I say I can't, you'll tell me that you will always be willing to listen. I will thank you we will share a moment and then I will jump on the train and see you next summer."

looked at the ground like a wounded dog, "Yes, well that's about it. Have a nice school year Harry, and try not to get into any trouble."

Harry nodded once and jogged back to the train, he hated hurting Mr. Weasleys feelings like that. But Harry was so sick and tired of people asking the same question over and over again when he had already told them he couldn't talk about it. Not to mention the fact that everyone was tiptoeing around him like he was a delicate flower or something, that itself was infuriating.

Once Harry boarded the train, he went straight to the compartment that he Hermione and Ron always shared.

"What did dad want?" Ron asked as Harry sat down next to Hermione.

Harry sighed, "Same thing everyone else wants."

Hermione nodded understandingly, "Why don't you do the same thing you did for us? Leave clues and let them find out on their own."

Harry shook his head, "It's too dangerous for even you two to know my secret. I can't risk their lives, too. I hate to keep them in the dark about important stuff like this, but I have no choice."

"I guess being a Mystic Knight isn't all its cracked up to be?" Ron asked, glancing sympathetically at Harry. "I know I sure couldn't keep a secret like that from the ones that I loved."

Harry snorted, "Do you two have any idea what it feels like to know that you and only one other person are relied on to save the world? A great evil is coming, and Jessica and I are the only hope for this world. I wouldn't call that fun, one mistake on my part and whatever Voldemort is planning...well let's just say, you would probably wish you were dead."

Ron paled and Hermione's eyes opened wide. Harry hadn't meant to frighten them, but they had to understand, being a Mystic Knight came with incredible responsibility.

And although it was a hard job; Harry wouldn't give it up for the world. He finally had a family of his own. The Weasleys were great but they were Ron's family. In the short month they had been together, Harry had come to love Greg like a father. Jessica and Greg were his family now, and Harry wouldn't give that feeling up for anything.

The compartment door opened interrupting his thoughts. Jessica entered and sat on the other side of Ron facing Harry.

"I found the tree troll, I had to kill him, but you know; whatever, right. Anyway I didn't find any other clues, but I think we have a problem."

"Why, what happened?" Harry asked leaning forward.

Jessica sighed, "Well after I defeated the troll I realized something was off. I believe I was being followed. Whoever it was watched me beat the troll easily."

Harry sighed and shook his head, "This can't be good. What do you think this guy wanted?"

Jessica shrugged, "I don't know, but somehow I doubt it was to ask for directions to a puppy farm or something."

"What's a puppy farm?" Ron asked squinting in confusion. Upon seeing his friends looks of disbelief he sighed, "Oh that was a joke right. I knew that, I was just messing around."

"Anyway, are you sure there was someone following you?" Harry asked trying to stifle the laugh that threatened to overwhelm him. The situation wasn't funny but Ron's face had turned bright red when Jessica had accidentally touched his knee, he looked like he was going to die. That struck Harry as funny, until now he hadn't realized that Ron had a crush on Jessica.

"Positive and I think whoever it was took my picture after I killed the troll. I saw a small flash in the woods, but when I got there whoever it was, was already gone. They apparated, I think it was one of Voldemort's men. Probably the same one that tried to kill you." Jessica said leaning back into the seat.

"Why would they take your picture?" Hermione asked glaring at Ron, who was still blushing and staring at Jessica. He looked like a star struck teenage girl.

"Well, if he saw her take out the troll, and he was a death eater then he would probably want a picture to take back to Voldemort." Harry explained resting his chin in his hand and his elbow on his knee. "Do you think he knows what you are?"

Jessica shook her head, "No, I didn't transform or anything. He just thinks I'm extremely powerful. Which means Voldemort will probably want me followed. It's ok if he knows what I am anyway. Its you that has to be careful Harry."

"Aliases!" Ron yelled excitedly. When the others turned to him confused he clarified, "Secret names to use when you are in Mystic Knight form. Like thunder butt or something."

"Thunder butt? Harry asked with a small smile, "I think you mean thunder mutt, that new TV show I told you about. But that's not a bad idea, I can be Panther and Jessica could be Wolf, after our Animagus forms."

Shock registered on his friends faces, "How come you never told us that you were animagus?" Ron asked angrily crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes.

"Sorry, Ron, I guess it slipped our minds. But yeah, both Jessica and I are Animagus. All Mystic Knights are; it's a must in this business. Jessica is a wolf and I can change into a black panther." Harry apologized with a sheepish smile, then noticing that Ron was getting jealous again, he changed the subject. "So how were your summers? I spent about two weeks in the Burrow and never once did I bother to ask."

"Oh yes please tell us, this should be sooo interesting." A voice sneered from the compartment doorway a moment later.

Harry, his senses heightened from being a Mystic Knight, knew that Draco was coming before he even arrived. He also knew that Draco didn't catch the first part of their conversation. With a deep sigh, he shifted in his seat to face his nemesis.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" he asked with another resounding sigh.

Malfoy ignored Harry; his eyes were trained on Jessica. "And who are you, another one of Potter's fans?"

Jessica laughed, "Hardly, I'm just a friend." She glanced at her watch, "A friend that has to get back to her compartment, I told somebody that I would be back in no more then ten minutes. See you later Harry, Weasel, and Granger." She pushed past Draco, Crabbe and Goyle without another word to them.

"I like her," Draco said with an evil grin, "But I wonder why Weasley didn't say anything when she called him, 'Weasel'?"

Ron went bright red and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Oh, is-is that what she said? Well I never, I'll talk to her about that later."

Draco shared an amused look with his companions, Crabbe and Goyle. All three were thinking the same thing; Ron had a crush on the pretty girl.

Harry, sensing Draco was about to comment on it, stood and crossed his arms over his chest, "What do you want?"

Draco's eyes narrowed in a menacing way, "Watch yourself, Potter. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you, now would we?"

"Are you threatening me, Malfoy?" Harry asked not backing down. After all, he was a Mystic Knight he had nothing to fear from Draco Malfoy.

"I'm just saying that you should show me some respect, because with the Dark Lord back you'll need all the friends you can get." He grinned and turned on his heel slamming the compartment door behind him.

Harry rolled his eyes and sat down next to Ron, "What a git,"

"Aw, don't worry about Draco, Harry, why don't you tell Ron and me why you were chosen to be a Mystic Knight this year and not next or last?" Hermione suggested.

"Ok, well normally a Mystic Knight wouldn't be trained until his seventh year in a wizarding school. Jessica and I are different however because Voldemort is planning something this year. Jessica, Greg and I haven't figured out what it is yet, but we know that it will take great power to stop him. Therefore, Greg had to call upon Jessica and I two years earlier, which has us at a disadvantage. Although we are strong, we can't reach our full potential until our seventh year in a wizard school."

His friends nodded understandingly, which, Harry thought, was a joke. They could never understand what he was going through, only Greg and Jessica could. Maybe not even Greg because he came into his powers his seventh year, which meant Greg, was training at full power. Jessica and he were not, and that tended to get frustrating; for they couldn't yet do things Greg could, and the two wanted to prove their value to their mentor.

"You mean you can do more then throw those balls of fire and ice? That has to take great power, right?" Ron questioned narrowing his eyes in a confused manor, as he sat back in his seat.

"Yes, my orbs of ice take some power, as do Jessica's orbs of fire; but if we reach our true power we will be able to do much more then that." Harry confirmed with a smile.

Throughout the rest of the train ride to Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione spoke of their summers and played exploding snap. Before long, the three friends had changed into their robes and were stepping onto the Hogsmeade platform.

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How's that for a chapter eh? Please tell me what you think, your reviews keep this story going so don't be shy (LOL) seriously though, please review. See you all next chapter, Cheers!


	7. Back at Hogwarts

Here's the next chapter y'all.

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"First years this way!" Harry heard his longtime friend Hagrid bellow from the other side of the platform. He smiled when he saw the giant surrounded by a bunch of nervous first years. Among the group of students was a very bored Jessica.

She caught Harry's eye and gave him a small smile; which Harry returned. Then he watched as Hagrid led the students toward the boats that would take them across the lake and to Hogwarts castle.

Harry climbed into the carriage after Ron, "Finally I'm back." He said smiling as he sat next to Neville Longbottom.

Harry, Hermione, Ron and Neville sat in silence for a few minutes as the carriage lurched forward in the direction of their school.

"How was your summer, Harry?" Neville asked breaking the silence.

Harry gave Neville a kind smile, "Just fine, how was yours, Neville?"

"Great, my Gran and I took a vacation." He beamed sitting straighter in his seat.

"Oh yeah, where too?" Ron asked with only half-hearted interest. Harry figured Ron's thoughts were on a certain spiky haired girl.

Neville, not noticing Ron's lack of enthusiasm, grinned broadly, "She'd been saving money for years and we had enough to take a trip to Hawaii. Not a very long one, mind you. But it was fun just the same. What did you do this summer?" he asked Harry.

Harry froze trying to think of a suitable answer; luckily, for him he didn't have, Hermione came through in a pinch.

"We all spent most of the summer together," she said casually, "Ron's family was kind enough to put up with us, right Ron?" she added elbowing her friend in the ribs.

"Ow! What? Oh yeah, right. Hermione was a bit of a bother to them though. She kept hitting everyone. Fred has a bump the size of an apple on his head."

Hermione went red in the face (Harry couldn't tell if she was more embarrassed then angry), "I do not hit people Ron!" she snapped hitting him on the back of the head. "Unless, of course, they deserve it."

Harry laughed, "Cut it out you two, we're nearing Hogwarts." And sure enough as soon as Harry had said it, the coach lurched to a stop and the four climbed out.

"I wonder who's teaching Defense against the Dark Arts this year." Hermione inquired as she, Harry and Ron entered the Great Hall and sat at the Gryffindor table.

As the Great Hall filled, Harry became increasingly uncomfortable. Ever since he had stepped off the train in Hogsmead Harry knew he was being watched. Almost every student was pointing and whispering at him, this annoyed Harry greatly but he couldn't blame them. Not after what happened the year before, with the end of the Triwizard Tournament and Cedric's death. But there was something weird about the way they looked at him.

"Why are they looking at me like that?" He asked his best friends shifting awkwardly in his chair.

Ron and Hermione exchanged glances, "Have you been reading the Daily Prophet this summer Harry?"

"No, why?"

Ron leaned closer while Hermione spoke, "It's Fudge, Harry. All through the summer, he's been lying about you using the paper. He says your crazy and Dumbledore is crazy for believing your story about what happened at the Triwizard Tournament. He's been denying you-know-who's return all summer, saying that you were just seeking attention."

Harry was outraged, "What? You mean everyone here thinks Dumbledore and I are nutters? Why didn't you tell me all this before!"

Ron grimaced, "Well you were hardly acting yourself and we figured more bad news would send you over the deep end. When we found out why you were acting weird we had forgotten all about Fudge and his stupid claims."

Harry sighed and dropped his head into his hands, "Great, so now everyone thinks I'm crazier then before, that's perfect that is." He mumbled something under his breath and emitted, what Ron and Hermione thought to be, a low growl.

Hermione grinned and laughed a little, "Well those at the Gryffindor table who didn't think you were crazy before certainly do now."

Harry went beet red, and then laughed too. "Oh, well, who cares what people think? If they don't like me that's their problem not mine."

Someone at the staff table caught Harry's eye, although his face remained expressionless, Harry was astounded. Greg Talon his Mystic Knight mentor was at the staff table talking animatedly with Professor Flitwick.

Hermione caught Harry's eyes, "What is it?"

"Nothing, I..."

He was cut off by the Great Hall doors bursting open, Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor house, strode in with a bunch of nervous first years behind her. Jessica followed at a distance behind them, her face said she was bored, but Harry could tell she was a little nervous.

After the sorting hat sang its opening song and all the first years were sorted Jessica sat on the stool.

Harry caught Jessica's eye and grinned, she returned the smile adding in the roll of her eyes for good measure.

The sorting hat took it's time before finally shouting out, "GRYFFINDOR!" Tremendous applause arose from the Gryffindor table as Jessica hopped off the stool and shot Harry a sly grin.

Taking a seat at the table Jessica looked to Dumbledore as the rest of the students were. He stood and smiled widely, "Then there is nothing left to say, except, Tuck in." Instantly the five long tables filled with food and everyone settled down for a brilliant feast.

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Well, what do you think, should I continue? Sorry this chapter is so short. Your reviews keep this story going. Thanks for reading, Cheers!


	8. Jessica's premonition

Here's chapter 8 enjoy.

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"Double potions." Ron moaned the next morning at breakfast as he looked over his new time table. "I hate Monday's, look at this, Divination, History of magic, and double potions after lunch."

Hermione, who had been checking over her own schedule, glanced at Ron's. "Yes, well, at least tomorrow should be okay for us. Care of Magical creatures and Transfiguration in the morning, and Herbology and Defense against the Dark Arts after lunch."

"What do you have this morning while we're in Divination?" Harry asked buttering his toast and taking a great big bite of it.

"Arithmancy," she answered absently.

"Hey, Harry," a voice called from the other end of the great hall.

Harry turned and saw Colin Creevy sprinting towards him camera in hand. Colin was in his fourth year at Hogwarts and was a reporter for the school newspaper, Harry just happened to be Colin's favorite person to photograph.

"Hullo Colin," he answered automatically.

Colin beamed as he dropped onto the bench next to Harry, "Hiya Harry, I like your hair. I was wondering if I could get a couple photos of your new look and maybe an exclusive interview about what possessed you to make such a drastic change in appearance."

Harry narrowed his eyes, "You want to know why I changed my look? Is it gonna be in the school paper?"

"Oh yes," said Colin nodding vigorously, "I volunteered for this assignment, told them you were a friend and... well, here I am. So, how about it?"

Harry shook his head apologetically, "Sorry, Colin, I don't think so." He ignored the crestfallen face of Colin, "The story really isn't about my 'new look' is it, Colin? It starts out that way at first, just to get me to believe it, and then you subtly throw in questions about last year. Then we get to what you really want to ask me, about the end of the Triwizard tournament. That's what your editor wants right; he wants the exclusive interview with me, right Colin?"

Colin went beet red then glanced at Ron and Hermione (who had been listening) for help. Finding none there, he looked at the ground and nodded sheepishly, "But I didn't want to, he said he would find someone else to do my job if i didn't. I'm sorry Harry."

Harry shrugged, "I don't mind Colin, just next time tell the truth alright?" he checked his watch, "Ron we better go, Divination is way up in the north tower, we have to leave now if we want to get there in time. See you Colin, Hermione." With that, he and Ron strode out of the Great Hall.

* * *

"Hi, Harry." Cho Chang said as she and her friend Marietta stopped in front of them. She smiled kindly as she looked him up and down, "You're looking well, I like your hair."

Harry smiled back, "Thanks, your looking well too." He shot a look at Ron who was grinning and starting to snicker. "How was your summer?"

Cho's smile drooped a little, "It was alright I guess, after everything that happened last year, it wasn't too cheerful."

Silence rang between the four for a minute before Harry shifted uncomfortably and said, "Yeah, well it was nice seeing you but we have to get to class, if we wait any longer we'll be late. See you." he never got a chance to finish his sentence, he watched horrified as Cho burst into tears. "Was it something I said?" Harry whispered to Ron as they watched Marietta comfort Cho. Marietta shot Harry a glare before leading Cho into the Great Hall.

Ron scratched the back of his neck, "Didn't see that coming," he commented, "What set her off?"

"Talking about Cedric would be my guess." Jessica said falling into step with the boys as they climbed the marble staircase. "Even though she never actually said his name, mentioning what happened upset her all over again. And, of course, Harry's brush-off didn't help anything." She added throwing Harry a dirty look.

Harry threw up his hands defensively, "I wasn't brushing her off, we really were going to be late for class." He dared a glance at Jessica and saw she was shaking her head in disbelief, "Alright maybe I was snubbing her a little, but I didn't want to talk about things that happened last year."

Ron nodded sympathetically, "Yeah, I can understand that mate, she had no right to bring him into the conversation. It was going well until she mentioned last year's events." They walked in silence until they had reached Professor Trelawney's silver ladder that led into her classroom, he turned to Jessica, and said "ladies first."

Jessica climbed the ladder and emerged into the strangest looking classroom she had ever seen. At least twenty tables were crammed inside, all surrounded by chintz armchairs and fat little pouffes. Everything was lit with a dim crimson light; the curtains at the windows were all closed, and the many lamps were draped with red scarves.

"Interesting," she muttered as Harry and Ron joined her at the table farthest to the back and next to a window.

"Just wait until this class starts; it's so boring you'll wish you were in potions with Snape." Harry said while Ron stifled a laugh.

"Good morning class," Trelawney said in her soft, wispy voice. "I understand we have a new class member this year." She turned to Jessica and smiled kindly, "Jessica dear, you never took Divination in your old school did you?" Jessica shook her head, "Ah, my inner eye never fails me," she said shifting the folder she was holding from one hand to the other.

Jessica leaned over to Harry and Ron when Trelawney turned her back, "Or her regular eyes, my transfer papers are in that folder. She probably read it and saw that I had never taken Divination."

Harry and Ron laughed causing Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown to glare at them. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan glanced at them obviously wondering what was so funny, before turning back to Professor Trelawney as she spoke to the class.

"Today I thought we could try to read palms," she announced a large smile plastered on her face, "it may be difficult in the beginning but you should all get used to it over time, now partner up," she waited patiently while everyone grabbed a partner, "Jessica, dear, you can join Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter. Open you text books to page one hundred it explains how to read palms there. I will be walking around the classroom lending a hand if you need it, you may begin!"

Once Harry, Ron and Jessica had finished reading the instructions for palm reading they each took turns reading each others palms.

Jessica went first, she grabbed Ron's hand and stared intently at it, "Hmmm, let's see here. Oh my," She muttered to herself.

Ron, who had gone bright red when Jessica touched his hand, suddenly paled, "What? What do you see?"

Jessica shook her head sadly, "Oh Ron, it's horrible just horrible."

Ron swallowed hard and glanced at Harry. The rest of the class had gone silent and Professor Trelawney, always drawn to sounds of despair, glided over to their table and looked over Jessica's shoulder.

"What do you see, dear?" she asked a small frown creasing her brow as she stared at Ron's hand.

"Danger, Professor Trelawney, Danger. Something horrible will happen to Ron, a horrible encounter that could cost him his life." Gasps of horror traveled across the room while Ron whimpered.

By now, Professor Trelawney was very interested, "What else does his palm tell you?" she asked a smile creeping onto her lips.

Jessica ran her thumb over Ron's hand and momentarily closed her eyes, "I see, a-a giant spider. He is angry, angry at Ron."

Up until this point Harry had thought Jessica was just playing around, but when she mentioned a giant spider something clicked in his head. He had never told Jessica about Aragog, the giant spider friend of Hagrid's that he and Ron had met in the forbidden forest of their second year. Aragog, although being Hagrid's friend, had wanted to kill them and Harry and Ron had barely managed to escape. Hagrid later told them that Aragog was furious with their escape and would kill them on sight if they ever met again. How could Jessica have known about the giant spider when Harry had never told her?

A horrible thought suddenly occurred to Harry, what if this was one of the powers Greg had refused to tell them about? One of the powers he said they would have to figure out on their own, what if Jessica was having some sort of premonition?

"Ron's alone in a forest, during the night time. He's running from very big spider's lots of spiders, but accidentally runs right into the biggest spider of all, then." she trailed off and opened her eyes, "That's it," she muttered tiredly, "T-that's all I can see." She swayed dangerously in her chair before collapsing, unconscious, to the ground.

There was instant uproar as the class panicked. Professor Trelawney knelt next to Jessica trying to wake her up while the class talked loudly and irrationally. Ron sat perfectly still in his seat, pale as a ghost and not helping any. Finally, Harry stood on his chair and whistled loudly getting everyone's attention at once.

"Calm down," he told everyone patiently, then turned to Professor Trelawney, "Should I take her to the hospital wing, Professor?"

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Soon Harry's found himself running down the hall toward the infirmary, an unconscious Jessica slumped in his arms. The old Harry Potter would never have been able to carry her, and Harry found himself thanking Greg for all the training they did that built up his muscles.

He skidded to a halt, so fast he almost dropped Jessica, as Peeves the poltergeist swerved in front of him holding a long walking stick, trying to block Harry.

"What have we here?" Peeves asked with a grin, "My, my Potter, have you been attacking the students again?" he laughed shrilly.

"Get out of my way," Harry said angrily as he tried to side step Peeves, he found himself getting very annoyed when Peeves continued to block. "I SAID MOVE!" he yelled heatedly.

"What's going on here? What's all the shouting about?" Professor McGonagall, the head of house for Gryffindor, asked sharply, striding toward them from behind Peeves.

"Peeves won't let me pass," Harry answered through clenched teeth, "And I have to get Jessica to Madam Pomfrey." He shot Peeves a dark look before shifting Jessica in his arms.

"Peeves leave now." McGonagall snapped, she ignored the rude gesture Peeves gave her before flying away, "What happened, Potter?" she asked as she and Harry walked quickly to the hospital wing.

By the time, they had entered the infirmary Harry had recounted the entire tale to his head of house, leaving out the significance of the giant spiders. As far as he knew no one but he, Hagrid, Hermione and Ron knew about their trip to the forbidden forest and their run in with Aragog, and Harry wanted to keep it that way.

Madam Pomfrey rushed over and her eyes grew wide at the sight of Jessica slumped in Harry's arms.

"What happened?" she asked all business as she motioned Harry to put Jessica down on the bed. After a short version of the story was told to her, Madam Pomfrey nodded understandingly. She checked Jessica over and quickly jogged over to a cabinet on the far wall. She cast a sharp glance at Professor McGonagall, "Do you think it's possible?"

Harry wasn't sure what they were talking about, and to tell the truth he really didn't care, because at that moment he felt a sharp pain in his stomach, and gasped. The pain grew worse with each growing second; he realized almost at once, what it was. Jessica was dying he could feel it just the way Greg said he would be able to.

"Mr. Potter, are you alright?" Madam Pomfrey asked concerned as Harry gasped again and stumbled back.

"I-I'm fine, it's Jessica that needs help. S-something's wrong." he answered pointing at Jessica's form on the bed, with a shaking hand.

Madam Pomfrey looked confused for a second before turning to the bed, sure enough, Jessica's body seemed to be convulsing. Madam Pomfrey gasped and rushed forward, Professor McGonagall right on her heels. Harry sat on the ground holding his stomach while he watched the two women, several agonizing minutes later the pain subsided and he stood up shakily and went to the bed.

"I-is she alright?" he asked looking down at the bed, worry etched onto his face.

"Yes, she'll be fine now. But that vision you said she had nearly killed her. It zapped all her strength. I gave her a potion to replenish her energy; she'll be fine. What about you, Mr. Potter? How is your stomach?" she eyed him warily.

Harry, just noticing he still had his hand on his stomach, blushed. He dropped his hand, and gave her a sheepish grin, "I'm fine, thank you. Just had a little too much to eat at breakfast that's all."

Harry spent the rest of Divination and the most part of History of magic at Jessica's bedside. He wanted to make sure she was Ok. Just before the bell, singling the end of History of Magic rang Professor McGonagall approached him.

"I suggest you head to the Great hall, Potter, lunch is about to begin." McGonagall said watching him closely.

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Well there's another chapter for y'all. Please review and tell me what you think, and any suggestions you might have. Reviewing keeps this Story going. Cheers!


	9. Keep your enemies closer

Sorry this chapter is short, but with school and my job I'm finding it harder and harder to find time to write. And I knew I would have some angry people on my hands if I didn't get something up soon. So here's chapter nine.

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The bell for lunch rang, just as Harry entered the Great Hall. He sat down and saved two seats for Ron and Hermione.

Within minutes, the Great Hall was full and Harry was bombarded with questions from the other Gryffindors asking if Jessica was alright.

"Madam Pomfrey said Jessica is going to be just fine." Harry told them all, "She was just tired out, didn't get much sleep last night I guess." That answer seemed to satisfy them and they all started eating.

"What really happened?" Hermione whispered, casting a nervous glance up and down the table.

"Madam Pomfrey said the vision she had of Ron had drained her of all her energy. That vision nearly killed her." Harry whispered back, Ron looked at the floor guiltily, "Don't blame yourself Ron; you didn't know that would happen. Jessica and I didn't even know. But I'm thinking it's one of the powers that Greg isn't allowed to tell us about. She'll be up and about in no time." He added when Ron looked at his plate worriedly. "Did you tell Hermione what the vision was?"

"Yeah," Ron answered with a frown, "Do you think it will come true, I mean, what she saw would happen to me?"

Hermione thought for a second, "Maybe, but premonitions like that are usually seen to change what happened. You said she never saw what happened after you bumped in Aragog?" when Ron and Harry nodded she continued, "I've read about premonitions in some books, with an undetermined outcome like that, it usually means that the vision can be changed. What happens after you run into Aragog hasn't been decided yet, so you can change it if it does happen."

Harry nodded, that made sense to him, but one look at Ron told him he wasn't convinced. "Don't worry about it Ron, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now all we have to worry about is Snape and double potions with the Slytherins next."

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Sure enough as soon as Harry stepped through the door to Snape's dungeon, the Slytherins howled with laughter at the sight of his blue hair. The mocking continued for several minutes before Snape swept into the room, cloak billowing out behind him. He strode to the front of the class and spun around on his heel, a twisted smile on his lips.

He ran his eyes over all the students coming to a stop on Harry, he surveyed Harry with the slightest hint of shock in his eyes. "Well, well, Potter. What on earth happened to your hair? It looks like a tree troll sneezed in it." He smiled cruelly while the Slytherins roared with laughter, the Gryffindors just glared.

Jessica mumbled something to Harry, Ron and Hermione and the three tried and failed to stifle their laughter.

Snape narrowed his dangerous black eyes and stared at Jessica, "And you must be Jessica Lock, the new student. Well, Lock, would you like to share what you just said with the class, hmm?"

Jessica sat back in her chair and glared at Snape defiantly, she seemed to study him closely for a few seconds before plastering a small smile on her lips. "No sir, I wouldn't sir."

Startled Harry shot Jessica a questioning look, which she ignored. Harry was sure Jessica would have told Snape exactly what she had said, what had stopped her?

Snape smiled cruelly, feeling he had got the better of her then began his lesson on a growth potion.

The rest of the double period went fairly uneventful, besides Shape's criticism, and the Slytherin comments Harry was pretty pleased with the class, but when the bell rang singling their dismissal he didn't linger. He packed his bag and was out of their quickly.

"What was that about?" Harry asked Jessica as she joined Hermione, Ron and himself at the dinner table twenty minutes later. He lowered his voice, "If that had been Greg you wouldn't have backed down."

She shrugged and helped herself to some steak and kidney pie, "The difference between the two is I know I can trust Greg, but I know nothing about Snape. So I figure I get on his good side follow him a little and find out what I can." She fixed Harry with her intense gaze, "There's something untrustworthy about that Snape character, and I'm going to find out what it is. 'Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.'" She quoted with not so much as a grin.

Even Harry couldn't argue with logic like that, he actually thought that was pretty smart of Jessica. To find out why people didn't always trust him she would get close to him, learn his routines, how much he eats and how often, etc. It was an angle that Harry had never thought of, but he was glad Jessica was doing it and not him, he didn't think he would be able to stand being even a little nice to Snape.

Hermione was looking at Jessica with a kind of renewed respect, "Precisely what I have been telling the boys for years." She said ignoring the glares Harry and Ron shot at her, "But they always insist on making life more difficult for others and themselves."

Ron rolled his eyes and decided to change the subject, "So, Harry, the Gryffindor Quidditch team needs a new keeper now that Wood had gone, eh?"

Harry nodded, now that their old Keeper and captain Oliver Wood was finished Hogwarts they needed to hold tryouts for another Keeper. "Yeah, you interested Ron?"

Before Ron could answer Jessica asked, "When are the tryouts?"

Harry, startled, turned to his fellow Mystic Knight, "You want to try out?"

She nodded, "I've always liked Quidditch, never played before but how hard can playing Keeper be, right? I mean all I'd have to do is stop the quaffle from going into the goalposts." She shrugged, took a forkful of pie and stuffed it in her mouth, "So what do you think, would I have a chance?"

"Are you kidding of course you will! I'll teach you everything you need to know about the opposite teams, and of course, I'll introduce you to the Gryffindor team." Harry said with a laugh.

Ron looked miserably at his plate, "They're acting like she already got the position." He mumbled to Hermione, moving his pie around his plate.

Hermione patted his shoulder sympathetically, "Don't worry about it Ron, just try out and do your best, you'll be surprised about what you can accomplish. You might even get the Keeper position." When Ron threw her a dirty look, she raised her hands defensively, "Alright, alright, you will get the Keeper position."

* * *

That night in the common room Harry, Ron and Hermione were seated in three armchairs around the fireplace doing their homework when Neville Longbottom burst into the common room and dashed over to them.

"What is it, Neville?" Hermione asked startled when he stopped suddenly in front of them.

He was breathing hard and his face was sweaty, "I-I was on my way back here when, I r-ran into a huge monster. I-I don't know what it was but I-it tried to kill me. B-but then that new girl, Jessica, came along and s-she saved my life. But t-then it turned on her and...and," he trembled as if cold.

"And what?" Harry snapped jumping to his feet, and taking Neville by the shoulders,

"And what, Neville?" But at that point, Neville didn't need to answer, a sharp pain rippled through his abdomen. He cried out and clutched his stomach, "Oh no," he whispered before shoving Neville aside and sprinting to the exit. He pushed aside the Fat Lady's portrait and raced down the hall, vaguely aware of Hermione and Ron's cries for him to stop.

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Well, what do you think? Any suggestions? Should I continue the story? Please review, after all you guy's keep the story alive!


	10. Jonesin for Jelly

Here's chapter ten guy's, sorry it took so long but my computer was screwy. Enjoy.

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Rounding the next corner, he stopped so quickly he lost his footing and fell to the floor. He stared at the hideous sight before him; Jessica was pinned beneath a slimy green monster that looked like a giant mound of Jell- O. The jelly monster had bit into her neck and seemed to be feeding on her blood. Every time she moved, the monster jiggled and tightened his grip on her.

Jessica turned her head slightly and stared at Harry through glazed eyes; she tried to say something but didn't seem able too.

The pain in Harry's stomach had become almost unbearable, but the thought of Jessica dieing seemed to bring him back to reality. He stood and powered up. Now in Mystic Knight Form he ran forward and tackled the demon.

Ron, Hermione and Neville rounded the same corner he had moments earlier, and stopped dead in their tracks.

Neville gasped as he saw Harry and the demon wrestling on the ground. Of course, Neville had no idea it was Harry because the usual metallic helmet was covering his head, but he seemed just as surprised to see it. "What?who?" he asked Hermione and Ron dumbly.

"He's a Mystic Knight," Ron said without thinking, and then quickly added, "I mean whoever that guy is, he's a Mystic Knight."

Hermione elbowed Ron in the ribs; hard. "Ron," she hissed, "Why did you have to tell him that?"

Neville didn't seem to have heard Hermione's comment; he was too busy watching the jelly monster and the Mystic Knight fight. "A Mystic Knight," he whispered in awe, "I always thought they were only legend, my gran said they were real. Told me she was saved by one once, i thought it was just a bed time story."

Harry was pinned under the jelly monster now, and it was trying to suck his blood like it had done with Jessica. Lucky for Harry though, his helmet covered his head and neck. And try as the monster might it just couldn't bite through the metal. Harry, using the creatures' momentary shock to his advantage, reared back and knocked the creature off of him. It flew through the air and hit the wall exploding into a million tiny jelly bits.

Harry, thinking he had won, dusted off his hands and stood up. Turning he saw Ron, Hermione and Neville staring at him.

Without saying a word he strode to Jessica's side and knelt next to her, "You Ok?" he asked, relieved that the pain in his stomach had dulled considerably. When she nodded, he looked up at Ron, Hermione and Neville, "Go fetch someone to help her." He ordered of Neville, glad that the helmet disguised his voice, so Neville wouldn't know it was him. It was a moment before Neville snapped to it and dashed back down the hall in search of help.

Harry cast a glance at Hermione and Ron before he felt a tugging at his robes; he looked down and saw Jessica was trying to say something. He leaned closer and could barely hear her.

"What?" he asked softly, then his eyes widened as he understood, "He-he's impervious to physical attacks? You mean..."

"Harry look out!" Hermione yelled panicked, her eyes were staring past him. "It's not through yet."

Harry spun around and watched as it began to reform, the million little pieces of jelly were merging again, and before Harry could do anything, they had reformed into the creature once more.

He pulled his sword from his scabbard and struck a fighting stance. "Hermione, any idea what this thing is?" he called to his friend behind him.

Hermione racked her brain; she knew she had read about these things somewhere. Something inside her head clicked, "Yes, it's a Jellitor, you can't hurt it physically; it will just repair itself."

"We already know that he can't hurt it!" Ron yelled angrily, "He need's to know how to kill it, Hermione."

Hermione was flustered; she just couldn't seem to remember how to defeat it. "Think, think." she told herself, kneading her forehead with her knuckles.

Jessica, by this time, had pushed herself to her feet. She swayed dangerously but managed to remain upright, "Magic, Harry, try using some spells while Hermione thinks."

Harry nodded once and instantly his sword turned into his wand, he thought quickly before yelling, "Stupefy!"

The Jellitor was thrown back into the wall again, but this time he didn't explode. Momentarily stunned the Jellitor slumped against the wall unconscious.

Harry looked over his shoulder at his friends; Jessica was leaning against the wall tired but alright in the long run, Ron was badgering Hermione trying to get her to think of the answer they were all waiting for, and Neville and was nowhere to be seen. Harry was getting a little impatient.

"Come on, Hermione. How do I kill it?" He growled angrily keeping an eye on the Jellitor.

"I-I can't remember, Harry." Hermione stuttered studying the ground as she concentrated on the question.

"Think, Hermione, think." He cried when the Jellitor began to stir. He pointed his wand at it just in case it woke up fully.

"Flambature!" he heard Jessica yell from behind him, he dove aside as blue sparks shot by him and hit the Jellitor. Blue flames engulfed the jell-o monster and within seconds, nothing was left but a pile of green ash.

Harry turned to Jessica and saw her sit on the floor. "Are you Ok?" he asked kneeling beside her, when she nodded he said, "Did that kill him, or will he repair himself again?"

"No, he's dead. I remembered reading about that spell once; the book said it killed things like Jellitor's." Jessica said taking a deep breathe and placing a hand over the wound on her neck.

"Why didn't you transform?" Hermione asked as she and Ron joined the two on the floor.

Jessica shot her a dark look, "Because I didn't know it was impervious to physical attacks until it was too late. I thought I could take it without having to change."

Hermione let out a snort, "Well obviously you were wrong." She shot Ron a smirk, which he returned feebly.

Hermione's attitude towards Jessica gave Harry the feeling that she didn't care much for her; he figured it was because she had come up with the answer to killing the Jellitor when Hermione couldn't.

"Yeah, well obviously you were wrong in thinking you knew everything." She gave a cruel laugh, "You couldn't even come up with a way to kill a simple Jellitor."

Hermione faced turned scarlet from anger and embarrassment, but before she could retaliate, Harry abruptly stood. "Someone's coming," he said.

Hermione, Jessica and Ron paused; they too heard hurried footsteps coming towards them. Before Harry could move, a pale Neville came dashing around the corner followed closely by Professor McGonagall.

She skidded to a halt, and stared at the Mystic Knight, "Good heavens," she breathed staring with wonder. "A true Mystic Knight, who...?"

Before she could finish her sentence, Harry turned on his heel and sprinted around the corner closest to him, without a second thought he disappeared into thin air. Mystic Knights use a different kind of magical transportation. Greg calls it shimmering. Basically they just vanish from where they are and appear at their desired location without a sound making it much easier to be stealthy considering apparating makes a loud cracking sound when you do it. Unlike apparating, which can be controlled with wards, shimmering is unknown to all except those blessed with the power of the Mystic Knight so there is no way of controlling where they can do it. Which Harry found handy in this particular instance since the wards around Hogwarts prevent everyone from apparating in or out.

By the time, McGonagall reached the corner and looked into the hallway beyond, the Mystic Knight was already gone. A little disappointed she turned back to Hermione, Ron and Jessica.

"Are you alright?" she asked of Jessica when she noticed the Gryffindor was holding her neck.

"I think so," Jessica said moving her hand when McGonagall stooped to check the wound. "That Jellitor drank quite a bit of my blood though. Luckily, that guy in the funny costume came and saved my life. I never got to thank him." She gave McGonagall the best legitimately confused look she could muster, "Professor, what's a Mystic Knight?"

"Never you mind," McGonagall said sharply but kindly, "Let's just see about taking care of that injury, hmm?" She helped Jessica to her feet and turned to the three remaining Gryffindors, "Go back to your common room, and continue with what you were doing. Jessica should be back shortly." With that said, she led Jessica back down the hall and toward the hospital wing.

"Twice in one day Miss Lock," Hermione heard the Transfiguration teacher say, "I must say that's a new record." As she, Ron and Neville headed back to Gryffindor tower she couldn't help but smirk.

* * *

Please review. they keep the story going. Please tell me what you think and if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them.

BTW if anyone has seen Charmed the shimmering i was talk about is what Cole can do. Just kinda melt away and back in y'know? if your still confused as to what it might look like i'd suggest looking the show and Cole up on youtube they are bound to have a shot of him doing it ;)


	11. Now SHE knows too!

Here's chapter 11 hope y'all like it.

* * *

When Hermione, Ron and Neville returned to the common room, they found Harry pacing.

He looked up in relief when he saw them, "There you are! Where have you been? I couldn't find you or Jessica. What happened?" he added seeing the pale look on Neville's face.

Hermione and Ron exchanged amused looks as Neville told him about the encounter with the Mystic Knight and the Jell-O monster. Harry pretended to be shocked and surprised at the proper intervals of the story. When he was finished, Neville asked Harry where he had been.

Harry pretended to blush, "Promise you won't tell anyone? Well Ok, I went looking for Jessica but I guess I went the wrong way because I ended up getting lost in the halls. I  
finally managed to find my way back here a couple of minutes before you arrived. Can you believe that, four years in this castle and I still get lost." He shook his head and laughed, "Well I'm glad everyone's Ok." Then his expression turned confused, "So you have no idea who this Mystic Knight guy is?"

Neville shook his head, "Not a clue. But I can't believe their real, I mean my gran always said they were but I never believed her. In fact, I'm going to go write to her and tell her what happened." With that, he jogged to the boys dormitory stairs and disappeared up them.

Harry let out a sigh or relief as he, Hermione and Ron sat down in front of the fire. "Thank goodness you guy's didn't come a few seconds earlier, or he would have seen me there."

Hermione nodded, "Yeah, but we didn't, so you don't have to worry about that, and he definitely bought your excuse. You know that word of a Mystic Knight being in school is going to spread quickly, don't you?"

"Yeah," Ron added, "Like the time you fought you-know-who over the philosopher's stone. No one was supposed to know what happened down there but naturally, the whole school found out anyway."

Harry nodded; he too had been thinking about that, "Ok, here's what I want you to do, when Neville starts telling people about what happened I want you two to add things in when he wasn't around. I want the whole school to know exactly what happened. Well, except change the part where Jessica defeated it to the Mystic Knight."

Ron looked taken aback, "Wait, you want people to know there's a Mystic Knight in the school! Whatever for?"

"Because everyone knows you guys wouldn't rat out a friend. So if you tell them, then their gonna know that I'm not the Mystic Knight." He reasoned, "And, of course, by saying that the Mystic Knight defeated the monster by himself, without asking for help from Hermione, people would think that the Mystic Knight isn't a novice, they'd think him an expert, so none would suspect a kid that's still in school, let alone someone just beginning his fifth year of school."

Ron nodded understandingly, "Yeah that makes sense. So no one will suspect a student of being the Mystic Knight let alone you."

"I knew it!" Exclaimed a voice, from the portrait hole, excitedly. "I knew something was different about you."

Horrified Harry leapt up from his chair and spun around to face the new voice, he watched as Ginny Weasley strode right up to him.

"I knew there was something different about you," she repeated loudly, she lowered her voice when Ron shushed her, "I didn't know what until I heard Professor McGonagall talking to Professor Dumbledore, on my way back here. She said a Mystic Knight had been in the school and had saved one of the students, Jessica Lock, I believe you know her. Anyway, I knew that somehow you and Jessica were connected, I knew since I saw you two in The Leaky Cauldron, and then everything fell into place when Neville came rushing into the common room earlier on. Yes Ron I was here, you guy's thought that everyone had gone to bed, but I was sitting in that corner over there finishing up my homework, I guess you didn't see me. Anyhow, Neville came rushing in saying something about being attacked and something about Jessica. You demanded to know what happened to her and then you doubled over in pain," she shot Harry a knowing grin, "Well, right then I knew what your connection to Jessica was, you and she are, Mystic Knights, partners. I had heard stories of Mystic Knights how they were connected to each other in a magic bond sort of way. You knew Jessica was dieing, you could feel it, that's what the pain in your stomach was, a warning that she didn't have long to live, right? So immediately, after you all left I went to fetch McGonagall, I finally managed to track her down just as Neville approached us. So off they went and McGonagall sent me to wake Madam Pomfrey. On my way back here, McGonagall only confirmed my theory with the story she was telling Dumbledore. I was going to confront you in the morning but here you are now, so, am I right?"

Harry was beyond stunned, his mouth moved but no words came out. When he finally found his voice, he wasn't sure what to say.

"Well...I..." he struggled trying to find the right words, "I must say, I'm surprised you were able to figure it out."

Ron, who had been staring dumbstruck at his sister, added "Yeah, even Hermione and I couldn't figure out what was wrong with Harry without help, I'm impressed. Good on you!"

Hermione, her attention on Harry asked, "That's what was wrong with your stomach, it was telling you that Jessica was dieing?" When Harry nodded she added, "I didn't know that, it wasn't in any book I ever read. How did you know?" she turned to Ginny.

"I've heard stories," she said simply with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Ok, well anyway. I have to get to bed if I want to be up a five to get two hours of training in before breakfast. Ginny, Ron and Hermione will fill you in on anything you want to know. Night all!" Harry said waving goodbye to his friends.

As he climbed into bed several minutes later, he couldn't help but think about Greg and what he would think. He would be angry enough that just Ron and Hermione knew, but now Ron, Hermione and Ginny know, he couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive about seeing Greg in class the next day. He just hoped Greg would be a little understanding.

* * *

Harry awoke very early the next morning, after throwing on some clothes (a pair of sweatpants and a tank top) and using his Mystic magic to perfectly spike his blue hair; he shimmered into the girl's dormitory in search of Jessica. He strode right past the other 5th years beds and straight to Jessica's. He wasn't sure if she had returned from the hospital wing yet, but decided to check here before shimmering to the infirmary. He quietly pulled back the curtains around her bed and peered in, Jessica was still sound seep.

"Jessica," he whispered prodding the small of her back, he waited until she rolled over and glared at him before saying, "Come on, we have to train, get up and get dressed, I'll meet you in the common room."

When Harry reached the common room, he was surprised to see Hermione, Ginny and Ron already there sitting around the fireplace. All three of them looked extremely tired. Ginny was resting her head on Ron's shoulder sleepily, while Ron kept nodding off. Hermione was the first to notice Harry; she prodded Ron and Ginny awake.

"What are you guy's doing up do early?" He asked when they stood and faced him.

Ron stifled a yawn, "W-we wanted to watch you two train. Thought it would be interesting." He murmured sleepily. "Couldn't you have picked a reasonable hour to do it though?"

Ginny yawned deeply, "How do you do this every morning? Get up this early I mean"

Harry shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest, "I've been getting up this early all summer, and it's become a routine. I guess I just got used to it." He heard movement behind him and turned to see Jessica coming towards them.

Jessica was wearing sweats and a tank top as well, Harry could tell she had also used magic to spike her hair; it was too perfect to have been done by hand. She looked very grumpy, Harry figured she thought she would never had to train this early in the morning again and had gone to bed very late.

"Morning sunshine," he laughed. His laughter stopped when she shot him a glare. "Oh, come on, you knew we had to train everyday, especially with Greg being here."

Ginny, who had been told about Greg the night before by Hermione and Ron, looked shocked, "Greg's here?" She looked to Hermione and Ron who looked equally confused.

Jessica, having just noticed the three, looked livid, "Now she knows," she growled shoving Harry, "God, what did you do? Put a notice on the message board, or just take out an ad in the Daily Prophet?"

Harry backed away from her his hands held defensively in front of him, "Hey, don't blame me, she figured it out on her own."

This seemed to amuse Jessica; she glanced from Ginny to Hermione, "Wait your telling me that this kid figured it out on her own. When the great know-it-all Hermione Granger had to be given clues?" she laughed and pointed at the red faced Hermione, "O-oh my god that is so funny."

She must have laughed for a good five minutes before finally calming down; she wiped a tear from her eye and straightened herself out. "A-alright, let's get going then, I'm ready to train." She walked to Hermione and gave her a hard thump on her back, "You really know how to cheer a girl up, thanks."

Hermione glared and was grumbling to herself all the way through and out the castle, when she saw they were headed to the forbidden forest she spoke up, "Uh, Harry, where exactly do you go to train?"

Harry turned to her, "Into the forbidden forest, it's the only place I know no one will see me." Seeing the nervous looks his friends were exchanging he added, "Don't worry, you guys are perfectly safe with Jessica and I. We won't let anything happen to you, right Jess?"

Jessica grunted noncommittally, "Yeah, whatever." They stopped when they reached the edge of the forest, shaking her head she headed in followed by Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny.

Harry moved up front and took the lead; they walked for what seemed like ten minutes branches scratching their arms and faces before they reached a large clearing somewhere near the middle of the forbidden forest.

"Well, here we are, this is where we will train every morning. (Jessica groans) I suppose we should start by stretching." Harry said thoughtfully.

"You suppose? Forgotten you're training already Harry?" an amused voice sounded from behind the five Gryffindor's.

Harry sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, slowly he turned around to face his mentor Greg Talon. The others were already staring at the man in wonder, well except Jessica who just smiled at him. "No, I just...well it was always you taking charge and telling us what to do, I'm not quite sure how to start."

Greg flashed another amused smile, it quickly left his face when he spotted Hermione, Ron and Ginny. He shot a sharp, questioning glance at Harry and Jessica.

Harry swallowed hard; he had been dreading this moment. But to his surprise, it was Jessica who answered.

"Greg, this is Hermione Granger and Ron, and his sister Ginny, Weasley. They know about us." She said with a calm tone.

"And how exactly did they find out?" he snapped angrily narrowing his eyes accusatorily at Harry.

"That was my fault," Jessica answered, to the great surprise of the other four Hogwarts students, "I didn't check to make sure the common room was empty before I opened my big mouth. I was complaining to Harry about how annoying it was to be a Mystic Knight and those three were apparently on the couch in the common room." It amazed Harry how good Jessica was at lying.

Greg nodded, apparently he believed Jessica, "Why didn't you alter their memories?"

It was Harry that answered this time, "Well Jess wanted to, but I wouldn't let her. See, they have been my friends since I came to school and I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had done something like that to them, or allowed someone else to. But, like I said, their my best friends our secret is safe with them. They won't tell a soul, right guys?"

"We would never tell anyone, professor. We would never hurt Harry like that." Hermione stated while Ron and Ginny just nodded in agreement.

Greg's face remained suspicious for a minute before he smiled, "Alright, if Harry trusts you that good enough for me." He clapped his hands together joyfully, "Now I think its time you two got around to training."

* * *

Harry yawned as he dished some food onto his plate that day at lunch, "I thought Transfiguration would never end." He said in relief.

Ron nodded and shoveled some Yorkshire pudding into his mouth, "Yeah, at least it was more interesting then Care of Magical creatures. Hagrid's lost his edge, he's gone soft. All we did was feed flobberworms all period, again." He took another bite of his food mumbling something about hating flobberworms.

Harry chuckled whilst Hermione and Jessica rolled their eyes.

"What do we have after lunch?" Ron said his ears going red as Hermione shifted and bumped his shoulder. Apparently he had gotten over his short crush on Jessica and went back to liking Hermione that morning.

Harry grinned at his friends flushed appearance and shot an amused look to Jessica, who sat beside him. They shared a smile before turning back to look at Hermione and Ron across from them.

Harry was about to comment on Ron's obvious discomfort when the tinkling of a glass drew their attention to the head table.

"It seems," Professor Dumbledore began, "that in my old age I forgot an important announcement at the beginning of the year feast." His eyes twinkled as he gazed around the great hall. "It seems I neglected to mention this years Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. May I introduce Professor Talon."

There was little applause as Greg waved, smiling kindly, to the students. He didn't seem to notice the lack of enthusiasm as he stood, "Thank you all, for that kind greeting," Several students exchanged glances, "I know in the past you have not had many good experiences with you DADA teachers, but I promise this year will be different. I look forward to seeing all of you in class." He sat down and didn't seem to notice the fact no one was clapping, apparently the students were a little wary of the DADA teachers still.

Eventually the students turned back to their lunch and the great hall was filled with chatter once again.

"I can't wait for DADA this afternoon; I wonder what the lesson will be about." Hermione said thoughtfully.

Harry grinned and ate some more of his lunch. He continued to eat and listen as his friends debated what the first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson would be about.

* * *

"GOYLE" Voldemort yelled striding across the cemetery towards the row of death Eaters waiting for them. He waited until his very nervous follower stepped forward. "What news have you got of the Potter situation? Did you get rid of him?"

"N-no my L-lord. I-I'm afraid my Jellitor didn't work, M-master." He stuttered nervously wringing his hands.

Voldemort was furious and his faithful followers could tell. "CRUCIO," he yelled.

Goyle screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. Finally Voldemort lifted the curse, and Goyle scrambled to his feet breathing heavily as he stood back in the line up.

"I will not have failures; the rebirth is upon us in mere months. We have only ten months left, I need that time to prepare." Voldemort hissed his intense glare sending shivers down every Death Eaters spines. "Potter must be destroyed, who will do it for me?"

Silence rang until one Death Eater stepped forward, "I will take care of Potter for you my Lord." Lucius Malfoy announced bowing deeply to his master.

"Excellent, make no mistake, if you fail you will be punished severely." The dark lord said a cruel smile playing on his snake like lips.

Malfoy swallowed hard and nodded in understanding, "Yes master."

"One more thing," he said, "As many of you can tell, Severus Snape is not here." he paused as whispers ran through the line up, "That is because I suspect him to be a spy for Dumbledore." more whispers and gasps broke out among the group, "no one mentions the Rebirth to him, understood. I'll deal with Severus in time so don't mention my suspicions either." With that, he spun around and crossed the cemetery, cloak billowing out behind him.

* * *

"Alright class," Greg said as he smiled at the Gryffindor and Slytherin fifth years. "I want you to open your books to page 147; today we will be discussing Lethifolds. Now, Lethifolds are extremely rare and only found in tropical climates. They are classified known wizard killers and are impossible to train or domesticate."

Nervous whispers spread through the class, on the Gryffindor side at least, some of the students in Slytherin looked a little apprehensive, but most of them looked bored.

"And although these creatures are extremely rare, I was lucky enough to have found one." Greg continued, watching with amusement as every students (except Harry and Jessica) eyes widened and they gasped in frightened shock.

"I happened upon it during my many travels and have stored it somewhere safe until I would need it, and now seems like an opportune time. If you'll all please not yell I'll bring it out."

As Greg disappeared into his office, the students started to talk quietly among themselves.

"Do you think that's allowed? Bringing a dangerous thing like that into the school, I mean." Seamus whispered to Dean.

"Of course he's allowed or it wouldn't be in the school. Dumbledore must have given him permission." Draco snapped with a sneer, having overheard the quiet conversation. They heard him mutter something about stupid Gryffindors.

Just then, Greg entered the classroom, a large box shaped item floating along behind him it looked like it could fit a grown man in it without the man having to slouch. The box was around seven feet tall, five feet wide and was covered in a blanket so the students couldn't see inside.

"Are you ready class?" Greg asked an amused smile playing on his lips as most of the students gazed nervously at the huge box he had just set on the floor.

Grasping the blanket edge, he paused for dramatic effect before ripping the blanket off and throwing it to the floor.

* * *

What a cliffhanger eh? What do you think, reviewing let's me know you like it and keeps the story going. Cheers!


	12. A Death Threat

Chapter 12 is here! Huzzah!

* * *

"What? That's supposed to be dangerous?" Draco sneered looking into the see through box. "It's just an old cloak."

And that's exactly what was in the box a cloak made for a six foot man, it looked ratty and old, and nothing like a fatal creature.

Greg smiled mysteriously, "Are you sure about that young Malfoy?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "Look if you based this whole class on your dirty laundry we might as well just leave now." He snapped grinning as the Slytherins chuckled.

Greg smiled, "Then perhaps you would like to prove you theory. Step up and try this cloak on."

Whispers ran through the class as Draco regarded the teacher and cloak apprehensively. Something about Greg's smile made him nervous.

"What's the matter Malfoy? Scared?" Harry shot to the platinum haired Slytherin. "After all 'it's just an old cloak'" Harry mocked, mimicking Draco's voice.

Draco, who had been about to refuse touching the cloak, stood up immediately, "I'm not scared Potter," he snapped putting an end to the quiet laughs the Gryffindors were giving as they taunted him.

Draco strode to the front of the class and waited while Greg opened the box. He hesitated slightly before grabbing the cloak and putting it on. When the cloak was secured around his shoulders, he turned to the class with a triumphant smirk.

"See, nothing but a grungy old cloak," Draco would have boasted more but the cloak he was wearing started to wrap itself around his body tightening its grip cutting off Draco's air.

The students gasped in horror as Draco's face started to turn blue. Instantly the Gryffindor students began firing charms trying to dislodge the assassin from their fellow classmate, the Slytherins were just content to sit back and watch. Even though Draco Malfoy was wildly unpopular among the Gryffindors nobody wished him to die.

"As you can tell, this creature is impervious to your spells; there is only one that will scare off this beast." Greg announced with a smile, he turned to Draco and raised his wand. "Expecto patronum!" he cried, the students watched in awe as a moose erupted from the end of their teachers wand and charged the cloak. Instantly the cloak disengaged from Draco and glided across the floor into Greg office. The moose disappeared and Draco sank to the floor gasping for breath.

"W-what w-was that?" Draco asked in between much needed gasps of air. Crabbe and Goyle rushed to his side and helped him to his feet.

"That, my dear boy, was a Lethifold, also known as Living Shroud, as we discussed earlier. That old cloak, as you called it, wraps itself around the victim slowly cutting off the victim's air. When dead, the Lethifold digests the victim whole, not leaving a thing behind. You may return to your seat Mr. Malfoy, thank you for the assistance."

Draco nodded dumbly before returning to his seat; apparently his near death had affected him greatly. But what Draco really couldn't believe was the fact that all the Gryffindors had tried to save him while the Slytherins had been content to just watch him slowly suffocate.

"Now, your homework for tonight is to write a foot long essay about Lethifolds, Where they originated, and how many are left. Your paper will be graded on how much you can tell me about these fascinating creatures." Greg announced sitting at his desk and folding his hands across the top. "Class dismissed."

* * *

"That was a great Defense against the Dark Arts class!" Neville exclaimed as the Gryffindors sat down to dinner that night.

Seamus nodded as he stuffed some steak and kidney pie into his already full mouth. "Beah! Ge vas leart. Balmost netter yen Kupin jas!" At the Gryffindors looks of confusion he swallowed and repeated, "Sorry, I said he was great. Almost better then Lupin was."

Ron nodded, "Yeah, Professor Talon was pretty good. That Lethifold was pretty cool. I wonder how he managed to find one."

As the rest of his friends continued on about Talon, Harry was discussing Quidditch tryouts with Jessica.

"Are you still planning on trying out for keeper?" Harry asked shifting his food around on his plate.

Jessica shook her head, "No, I have enough to contend with as it is. I decided it wouldn't be best to bite off more then I can chew, so to speak."

"Fair enough." A disappointed Harry said.

"Aw, don't be like that Harry! Now you can have Ron on the team. He wanted to be the keeper too, remember?" Jessica teased nudging him slightly with her elbow.

Harry grinned back at her antics and returned to his meal. As Harry raised the forkful of carrot and turnip to his lips, he immediately sensed something wasn't right. Something bad was coming. Casting a sharp glance at Jessica, he realized she must have sensed it too by the anxious look on her face.

They both looked to Greg who seemed to remain oblivious to the feeling.

"What do we do?" Jessica asked, "We can't just leave the Great Hall in the middle of dinner. People will be suspicious, especially if a great battle erupted outside or something."

Harry sighed not sure what to do either, running a hand through his hair he glanced back to Greg before answering. "I g-guess we should just wait here, I don't doubt the trouble will find its way here, to me." He whispered.

"Bit self centered aren't you?" Jessica ribbed trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Unfortunately it always seems to be true." Harry muttered a little angrily.

Just then the Great Hall door's burst open and a Deatheater strode into the Hall. "HARRY POTTER! TONIGHT YOU DIE!"

* * *

Sorry this chapter is so short but I'm getting writers block. I don't know what to write a lot of the times. But please review and tell me what you think. Maybe toss me a few ideas (wink; wink) I would love to hear your suggestions. Please R&R. Cheers!


	13. Fire Wolf

This chapter isn't very long. Thanks to all my reviewers and I hope you enjoy this next part.

* * *

The uproar this statement caused was tremendous. Students screamed and dove under the tables for protection, and the teachers jumped to their feet wands pointed at the Deatheater.

"Stupefy!" They all cried together. But to their, and the students utter amazement, a powerful shield erected itself and blocked the spells.

The shimmering shield formed a large rectangular box around the Deatheater.

"As you can probably tell, your spells cannot penetrate my shield. Mine, however, can. And unless you hand over Harry Potter, I will start killing every one of your precious students." The Deatheater snarled at Dumbledore.

"You will not touch a hair on Harry's or any other child's head!" Dumbledore bellowed, trying, and failing, to again stun the Deatheater.

"You won't hand over the boy? Fine, have it your way." His wand snapped around to face a terrified group of Ravenclaw's huddled together. "AVADA KEDA..."

"STOP!" Harry's voice bellowed from in front of the Deatheater.

Voldemort's follower turned and lowered his wand. "Looks like Mr. Potter has decided to give himself up. How very Gryffindor of you. One inch closer and I blast you into the next century." His statement effectively stopped Harry's hand from moving any closer to his wand.

"You touch that boy and you will regret it!" Dumbledore snapped, striding toward the barrier. However when he tried to pass through he was thrown back into the head table.

"As you can see Albus, the shield is only allowed Potter and myself a safe passage through it. Did I forget to mention that before?" The Deatheater chuckled cruelly as he watched the teachers help the Headmaster up.

All the teachers shouted similar threats to the Deatheater, about harming Harry as Dumbledore had. The Deatheater only laughed.

Greg Talon watched the Deatheater with great dislike. Greg knew he could probably break down the shield, so could Harry and Jessica, but he also knew that Harry needed to do this on his own. To find out what other powers he had yet to discover, and to prove to himself that he could.

Jessica also understood Harry's need to do this on his own. To make the Deatheater pay for the loss of his family, at his masters hands.

"Now Potter, my master has ordered you dead, and I fully intend to deliver." To Harry's, and everyone else's surprise, the Deatheater put away his wand. Harry dropped his hands to his sides, relaxing, yet still preparing himself for what was to come. "I have taken a different route then trying to fight you magically. In the past you have always come out on top. So I have decided to pit you against the rarest and deadliest of all beasts. Unfortunately for you I have complete control over this animal and it cannot be harmed by magical attacks of any kind. So I'm afraid your wand will be useless."

Harry gulped and looked to Jessica, who looked just as anxious about this situation as he did. She shook her head, not knowing what to do anymore then he did. Harry chanced a glance at Greg and found him curious as to what the Deatheater was talking about.

"Scared Potter, just as yellowed bellied as your parents were I suppose."

Harry's eyes filled with rage and a strange sensation seemed to fill the room, almost as if his anger was manifesting itself into some kind of scary power.

"Don't you dare talk about my parents, your not worthy of it. Bring on your little friend, but when I'm done with it, you and I are going to settle a few things." Harry spat as his magic seemed to whip around him like a wind.

The Deatheater seemed shocked for a second before regaining his composure and whistling loudly.

The Great Hall was filled with a loud and eerie howl. Harry gulped and faced the doors. Whatever it was was coming strong and quickly. Harry was seriously considering making a break for it as another bone chilling howl filled the castle.

The Deatheater stepped aside and the students gasped as a huge wolf bounded into the room. But this was no ordinary wolf, he was at least twice the size of a regular wolf, and his bright orange eyes glowed eerily. The pure black of his fur, with his strange eyes seemed to make the wolf more ominous. Around the Wolf's neck was a gold chain, a large green amulet attached to it. The amulet glowed just like the Wolf's eyes did, only a green color.

"A Fire Wolf!" Harry breathed in awe. He had read many things about these strange animals, in Greg's library, but never before had he seen one up close. Fire Wolves were supposed to be close to extinction, with less then ten all around the world. Unfortunately all of those Wolves were male and unable to reproduce by themselves.

Hagrid seemed just as awed by the wolf as Harry was, "Blimey, dat's a Fire Wolf. Der supposed ter be extinct," he whispered.

"Well Potter, you've proven yourself many times. But let's see if you can handle one of the most dangerous of beasts." The Deatheater said.

"Wait!" Harry said trying to think quickly, "You're not going to give me a weapon of some kind! You expect me to fight this thing with my bare hands!". _"What should I do?"_ he asked himself. To his great surprise someone answered.

**"Destroy the amulet, young one. Do that and I promise not to hurt you or your fellow classmates."  
**  
Harry blinked then shook his head in confusion. _"Say what?"_ he thought using the catch phrase he had heard Jessica use several times. The Deatheater laughed, "I don't fight fairly, Potter. You get no weapon; it will make my job of killing you all the more easier." He laughed cruelly. "Any last words, Potter?"

**"The amulet, child, it is what means he uses to control me. Break it and I will be free and eternally grateful."**

It was then that Harry realized it was the Wolf talking to him telepathically. He knew he must destroy the amulet and set the Wolf free. He had only one chance, but it would mean revealing to the school and Voldemort that he was an Animagus. It was a risk Harry knew he would have to take.

"Any last words, Potter?" The Deatheater snapped again.

"Yeah," Harry started, "Screw you."

"ATTACK!" The Deatheater snarled angrily.

The Wolf charged at Harry, screams filled the hall, as everyone realized the Boy-Who-Lived, would live no more.

* * *

Oooohhh. LOL. Please review.


	14. Fighting time

Alright here's the next chapter, hope you like it. Please read and review.  
_"Italics"_ mean telepathic talk.

* * *

Harry barely managed to dodge the huge Wolf as it dove at him. But once he had put a few feet between them he decided it was now or never. He ignored the screams and warning of the students, and teachers around him and focused solely on transforming into his Panther form.

The hall went silent when they realized the Black Panther now facing down the Fire Wolf was indeed Harry Potter. They had all seen him transform, but for some reason still couldn't believe it was him.

Harry, in panther form, growled loudly and threw himself toward the already airborne Wolf. They collided in mid-air and slashed viciously at each other. Claws searching for flesh as they landed and wrestled roughly on the floor of the Great Hall. They fought brutally for ten minutes, both injuring the other over and over again.

_"**I do not want to hurt you, child. But I have no control of my actions. Please break the amulet and end this fight."**_ The Wolf told Harry as he managed to slash the Panthers' cheek causing Harry to yelp in pain.

_"I'm trying, but it's a little difficult when you're trying to stay alive."_ Harry answered a little annoyed.

Both Panther and Wolf separated and stood staring at each other; both breathing heavily and bleeding somewhat badly.

Harry decided it had to end, so throwing caution to the wind he dove at the Wolf's chest and managed to get the amulet between his teeth. He almost dropped it, however, when the Wolf clamped its huge jaws onto his neck, piercing the skin and causing the already injured Panther to bleed more.

Knowing he had to finish the job Harry bit down with his powerful jaws and smashed the amulet between his teeth. A small explosion from the, now broken, amulet threw both the Wolf and Panther across the Great Hall, where they both lay still.

The amulet must have been providing the powerful shield around the Deatheater because it dropped suddenly and the Deatheater ran for the forest. Nobody followed him however as they were all more worried about the unconscious Harry.

Before any of the Teachers had regained their senses long enough to go help the young wizard, the Black Panther had awoken and was limping painfully to the fallen Fire Wolf.

When he was two feet away Harry transformed back into himself and walked the rest of the way, before dropping to his knees next to the injured animal. The Wolf looked horrible, just a mass of blood. He couldn't look at the injured Wolf and closed his eyes. Harry knew he couldn't look any better, the deep gash on his cheek, and fang wounds on his neck hurt horribly. But he was thankful all his other scratches and bruises weren't hurting him any more.

Gently placing his hand on the Wolf's head he opened his eyes, _"Are you alright?"  
_  
The Wolf opened his eyes and fixed the young wizard with a confused stare, _**"Why do you care, little one? I tried to kill you."  
**_  
Harry smiled lightly, _"You had no control over your actions. The Deatheater shouldn't have used you that way. I'm sorry that I hurt you."  
_  
**_"It was not your fault you were only trying to protect yourself, I'm just glad you were not killed in the battle, tis a terrible crime to kill young ones, in my race."  
_  
**_"I'm not that young, I'm fifteen, that's practically a man."  
_  
_**"In my race you are still a child."**_

Harry would have answered but was stopped when a gentle hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Harry, we must get you to the hospital wing, have you looked at. That was quite a fight back there." Dumbledore said, gently helping the injured wizard to his feet. Noticing the young man about to protest he added, "Don't worry about the Fire Wolf he shall be properly dealt with."

Harry's eyes widened in horror, "What do you mean, sir?"

"I'm having Professor Snape administer a potion to put the beast into an eternal sleep." He said lightly.

"What!" Harry exclaimed startling everyone including Dumbledore. Wrenching himself away from the headmaster he stood protectively in front of the fallen Fire Wolf. "You can't! I won't let you."

"Harry it tried to kill you, why do you protect it?" Professor McGonagall asked, surprised by his behavior.

Harry, knowing he shouldn't mention the fact that he could talk to the animal, said, "Because, he only did what the Deatheater told him too. He had no choice; I bet you anything that the amulet he wore was controlling him. Or did you not notice the magical blast that followed the breaking of it."

McGonagall, about to reprimand him for speaking in such a disrespective manner was cut off by Dumbledore.

"Prefects will lead their houses back to their common rooms," he said loudly, yet calmly. When nobody moved he added just as loudly, "Now!"

There was a lot of noise as every student dashed to the Great Hall doors. Less then a minute later the Great Hall was empty except for the teachers, Harry and the Wolf.

Harry, knowing he wasn't going to be able to stay conscious much longer pleaded, "Please Professor, let him live. I promise to take full responsibility for him while he is here."

"Obviously it means a lot to the boy, Albus. Besides I don't think that animal is in any shape to hurt someone, I mean look at him." Greg waved his hand towards the wounded Wolf.

"Alright," Dumbledore whispered, sensing this was important to Harry, just as Greg had, "As soon as you're healed up, he's your responsibility. I hope you know what you are doing."

Harry sank to the ground in relief, "Thank you, and sir, you won't regret this decision, I promise."

Dumbledore nodded once before leaving the Great Hall, trusting the other teacher's would get Harry to the hospital wing. It was obvious to everyone he needed time to think.

Harry turned to the Wolf and smiled slightly, before promptly passing out. The last thing he saw was the great respect that burned in the Wolf's eyes.

Three days later...

Harry awoke to find himself in the hospital wing at Hogwarts, it took him a couple of minutes to remember why he was there, but when he did he bolted up and leaped out of bed.

Glancing around him, he saw Sirius asleep in a chair by his bed. Shaking his tired Godfather Harry waited till the man opened his eyes then asked the question that had plagued him in his dreams.

"Where's the Wolf?"

Sirius was out of his chair and wrapping Harry in a bone crushing hug before the boy could blink. "Thank god you're alright!" he exclaimed pulling back to look into Harry's emerald eyes, "Dumbledore called me here and told me what had happened, just when were you going to tell me you are an Animagus?"

Harry, ignoring the question, repeated, "Where is the Wolf?"

Sirius sighed, "He also mentioned that you have a strange attachment to the Wolf who tried to kill you." Seeing the look on his godsons' face he added, "Hagrid is taking care of him. You've both been asleep for three days now, so he's been no trouble."

Harry seemed surprised, "Three days, really?" he shook his head with a small smile, "Well all that sleep must have really helped, because I feel great. So I think I'll take a trip to Hagrid's house and see how the Wolf is doing." He tried to make a hasty getaway but found the doorway blocked by Sirius.

"You never answered my question. Who taught you to become an Animagus?"

Harry sighed sadly, "Ok, that would fall under the 'I can't tell you' category, sorry." Anger flashed in his godfather's eyes, "I learned it over the summer, and you already know I can't tell you what went on then. When I'm ready to talk about it, you'll be the first to know, I promise." This seemed to calm down Sirius a little, "Now, can I please go see Hagrid?"

"Yeah, go ahead, just be careful, and try not to wear yourself out, you're still not totally healed. I'll see you later."

Harry smiled, dashed back to his bed, changed into his school robes and was out the door, before Sirius could change his mind.

"Harry! Your alright" Hagrid exclaimed pulling Harry into his hut and shutting the door. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm good Hagrid, how's the Wolf?"

Hagrid expression changed from happy to sad in an instant, "Not well, every time I try to get near the feller he bursts into flame."

Harry had expected this, he knew the Wolf wouldn't trust anyone; after all he had tried to kill their knight in shining armor. Being a Fire Wolf he had one main defense, when something or someone he didn't trust came near, a Fire Wolf would burst into red, yellow and orange flames. It was probably a spectacular sight to see, but Harry had yet to see it for himself.

"Where is he?"

Hagrid led Harry out back to a large glass cage. On a cot inside this cage was the Wolf, he looked just as bad as he had three days ago.

"Can you let me in." it wasn't a question, but Hagrid seemed to want to protest anyways. "Please Hagrid; I may be the only one able to save him."

Sighing reluctantly, Hagrid whispered the password that opened the glass door, and Harry stepped through.

Inside the glass cage the smell of death permeated the air, the wolf looked just as horrible as he had three days ago. Dried blood clung to his fur and deep gashes were still visible.

_"You look horrible, you need help."_ Harry told the Wolf smiling lightly.

Sleepy orange eyes stared at him, but the Wolf said nothing. His breathing came in ragged, shallow breathes, and Harry realized the Wolf probably wouldn't live much longer without proper medical care.

_"Please,"_ Harry begged, gently stroking the Wolf's head _"Let my friend help you."  
_  
_**"I am afraid he will be angry with my behavior towards you. How do I know I can trust him?"  
**_  
_"Do you trust me?"_

_**"Yes, you had them spare my life, and you seem to understand I never meant to hurt you. You, Harry Potter, are one of the most trustworthy people I know." **_The Wolf said with sincerity._**  
**  
_Harry nodded and waved at Hagrid to enter the glass cage, _"Then trust my judgment now, show me that you trust me."  
_  
The Wolf said nothing but allowed Hagrid to step forward with his umbrella (the one he uses as a wand) and a first aid kit.

"Alright Harry?" he asked already beginning to look over the Wolf's wounds.

Harry nodded, "Just take good care of him Hagrid, I'll be back in a moment." Stepping out of the cage he clenched his fists in anger. Voldemort had sunk too low this time, using such a gentle creature to do his dirty work. Anger shook him to the core as he thought about what evil Voldemort might have made that poor Fire Wolf do. He needed to let off some steam, release his anger where no one would be hurt.

He made his way over to the edge of the forest, but before he could enter a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Where are you going?" Jessica's soft voice reached his ears.

Turning he saw the concern in her eyes, checking to make sure Hagrid was still occupied, he answered her question with one of his own.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" It was after all Monday morning; classes should be in session by now.

She smiled, "So I skipped History of Magic, big deal, I would have just slept through it anyway." She paused, "You never answered my question, where are you going?"

Harry sighed and messaged his temples, frustrated, "I need to blow off some steam, I was going to go train for awhile while Hagrid is busy with the Wolf."

Jessica nodded and grinned when she looked at his hair, "Nice Harry, trying to start a new trend."

Harry was shocked at the change in direction of the conversation, but welcomed it, "What do you mean?"

Jessica laughed and summoned a mirror, before handing it to Harry she replied, "Well, it certainly is a daring look, do you try and give Draco Malfoy ways to make fun of you?"

Confused Harry took the mirror raised it to his face and laughed at his reflection, his hair hung limply on his head, and it looked like he had placed a blue mop on his head. Still chuckling he waved a hand over his head, the hair immediately spiked itself and Harry handed back the mirror with a grin.

"Guess I forgot to fix it, I was in such a rush to get out of the hospital wing and see how the Wolf was I completely forgot what my hair must have looked like."

Jessica laughed following Harry, who had started walking into the woods again. A comfortable silence fell over the two of them, broken when Jessica spoke again.

"How is he, the Wolf I mean?"

Something in her voice made Harry stop and turn to face her, "You heard him speak too, didn't you?"

Jessica nodded and began to lead the way deeper into the forest, "Yes, but we were the only one's, not even Greg heard him. It must be another Mystic Knight power, and since Greg is no longer a Mystic Knight, so to speak, he wasn't able to understand him either."

Harry pondered this awhile and nearly bumped in Jessica when she stopped suddenly. It was only then Harry realized they had reached there training clearing. He hadn't even fully realized they had started walking again.

Scanning the field Harry realized something was amiss. The weapons and attack dummies were all there, the clearing was exactly the way they had left it, but Harry knew something else was there. He could feel it, something was watching them.

"Jessica..." Harry began glancing around the clearing again as the feeling grew, he realized not one, but a whole group of something's was watching them.

"I feel it too," she whispered her hand finding Harry's and squeezing tightly, "what are they?"

"I don't know," the sensation was really staring to creep him out, "But I have a feeling we're going to find out, real soon." The words barely left his mouth before dozens of shadows swept out of the forest straight for them.

* * *

Uh oh, another cliffhanger. Oh well at least this chapter is longer this time.


	15. An Alliance

Chapter 15!

* * *

Harry instinctively pulled Jessica to him, shielding her with his body as the forms in the air darted towards them at warp speed. He stayed like that waiting for the attack he was sure was coming. After a few minutes he realized the creatures should have attacked them by now.

Jessica lifted her head from its position on Harry's chest and looked out into the field. Gasping at what she saw Jessica poked Harry's ribs telling him to take a look.

Hesitantly Harry released Jessica and gawked as he turned to the clearing. Dozens if not hundreds of Phoenixes littered the ground forming a tight circle around them.

Harry took them all in with wide eyes, he had thought that Phoenixes were practically extinct, but here were hundreds staring, unmoving, at the two Mystic Knights. All the Phoenixes were swan sized, scarlet birds, with long golden tails, beaks and talons. Except two, both sitting at the head of the group, one was blue with a silver tail, beak and talons. The second was pink, with a silver tail, beak and talons.

Harry had never heard of any such Phoenixes of that color, they were all supposed to be scarlet and gold. Instantly he realized that these two Phoenixes were different, in many ways, to the others and were probably the leaders of the groups.

"Why are they staring?" Jessica asked also noticing the strangely colored Phoenixes; she couldn't seem to take her eyes off them.

Harry shook his head, "I don't know, maybe they are waiting for us to speak."

"I don't think I can speak to Phoenixes, how about you?"

Harry chuckled, "Not that I know of, but I also didn't think I could speak to Fire Wolves either. If there's one thing I learned from becoming a Mystic Knight, is anything is possible." He took Jessica's hand and forced her to bow deeply as he was doing.

"I Harry Potter, Mystic Knight, and Hogwarts student greet you, and ask why it is you are here?" Harry was a little surprised when the words came out sounding like a Phoenixes trill.

The Phoenixes remained quiet, continuing to stare at the Gryffindor's. Finally after what seemed like a century, the blue phoenix spoke.

"Greetings Harry Potter, Mystic Knight, and Hogwarts student. I am Shirerton Wimbleing, but you may address me as Shire. My companion here," the blue phoenix nodded in the pink's direction, "is Kiararic Wimbleing, but you may call her Kiara."

Silence reigned again. Nobody spoke or moved for a few minutes. Jessica, never being the patient one, broke the silence.

"I Jessica Lock, Mystic Knight, and Hogwarts student, would like to offer my welcome, and repeat Harry Potter's earlier question of why are you here?"

Shire shared a glance with Kiara before turning back to Harry and Jessica, "Kiara and I," he began, "Being the leaders of all Phoenixes, also known as Phoenix lords, come to offer our allegiance in the upcoming war against Voldemort."

Harry was shocked to say the least, "What do you know of Voldemort?"

"We are just as much a part of the Wizarding world as you, young Harry. We know what the dark lord Voldemort is doing, and want to be of assistance during this dark time. Learning two Mystic Knights had surfaced we came to find you and offer our loyalty to the light side."

"Why?" Jessica asked, "Why do you come now and not earlier?"

Both Kiara and Shire shifted somewhat uncomfortably, and said nothing. However an ordinary Phoenix stepped out from behind the two and bowed to Harry and Jessica.

"Figgery Jiggery, Phoenix General, would like to ask permission to answer the young ones question, may I?" at Shire's nod, Figgery continued, "Until now none of the Phoenix lords felt the need to involve themselves in a war not their own. That all changed two days ago, when Voldemort's followers found the forest of Phoenixes, all the Phoenixes of the world lived there. Contrary to popular belief there are hundreds of Phoenixes left in the world, or there used to be. Anyway, two days ago the Deatheaters came to us and asked for our allegiance to Voldemort, when we refused they attacked killing all except which you see here. Now, with only a hundred of us left. We came to find you, the Mystic Knights, to offer our assistance during the war, for retribution against Voldemort."

"How many of you did Voldemort slaughter?" Jessica asked bluntly, ignoring the groups collective wince.

"Nearly five hundred, Miss." Figgery answered sadly, "We never saw it coming and didn't stand a chance. Our tears can't heal other Phoenixes, we were not able to heal any that were injured, and in our cowardice we left them to die. Fled for our own lives."

Shire bowed once more before flying to Harry and perching on his shoulder, "Will you accept our help, Harry Potter, Mystic Knight and Hogwarts student?" He extended one foot to Harry in hopes of agreement.

Harry hesitated at first but then smiled, "On one condition, you call me and Jessica by our first names only. None of that formal stuff, we are, after all, equals and should treat each other as friends."

"Deal."

* * *

Harry and Jessica emerged from the Forbidden forest an hour later, after forming an alliance with the Phoenixes. It was decided that Shire and Kiara would travel with Harry and Jessica at all times, and the Phoenix lords General, would stay with the army in the forest and do reconnaissance work. Although Mystic Knights could talk to the Phoenixes, they could not do so over distances, and had to be around the creature they wish to speak to therefore Shire and Kiara would remain in contact with the others at all times and report any news to Harry immediately. Shire and Kiara had stayed behind at the clearing to make sure all the Phoenixes stayed there and knew not to venture away, and would join the Gryffindors later.

"Harry Look," Jessica said, successfully breaking Harry out of his thoughts, "Hagrid's done it, he's healed the Wolf."

Harry followed her gaze and saw that Hagrid had indeed healed the Fire Wolf, for he was out of the cage and bounding around the pumpkin patch in good spirits. Laughing he and Jessica ran to Hagrid who was watching the Fire Wolf with glee.

"So he's all better then?" Harry asked watching as the Wolf leaped over a particularly large pumpkin.

Hagrid let out a hearty laugh, "Yep, I'd say so. He seems right cheerful now, where did you go off to Harry?"

"I went for a walk to clear my head," he answered then noticed Hagrid's surprised look when he turned to face Harry and saw Jessica, "I met Jessica on my walk and she accompanied me back here, I'm still a little tired, after all."

Hagrid didn't look totally convinced but let it drop and changed the subject, "Your Wolf over there healed quite nicely, didn't cause a fuss once."

"Good!" Harry said proudly before turning to look at the happy Fire Wolf again,_ "Good to see your doing better, thank you for trusting me."  
_  
The Fire Wolf halted its romp around the pumpkin patch and turned to see Harry watching him. He let out an eerie howl and darted towards the young Mystic Knight at full speed.

For one brief moment Harry thought the Fire Wolf was going to attack him, but realized that he was only coming to say hello when the Wolf stopped in front of him and licked his hand.

_**"Thank you young one, thank you very much."**  
_  
_"So you're feeling better then?"_ Harry teased, gently stroking the Wolf's head.

_"Harry, don't tease the poor fella, you know perfectly well that he's feeling alright."_ Jessica admonished joining the conversation.

"Yes Harry, behave yourself." Kiara added as she landed on Jessica's shoulder.

Shire landed on Harry's shoulder and would have said something if, the long forgotten, Hagrid hadn't spoken up right then.

"Bloody hell," he swore staring at the two Phoenixes on the student's shoulders, "Those are Phoenix Lords, I thought they were extinct, where...how?"

'Great' Harry thought with a sigh, 'how am I supposed to explain this one.'

* * *

Here's another chapter for y'all. Not very long but at least it's something. Please R&R to let me know if I should continue or abandon this story. Cheers!


	16. A Meeting

Chapter 16!

* * *

Lucius Malfoy stood outside his Master's office fiddling nervously with his robes. He had failed in destroying Harry Potter three days earlier, and knew that he would soon pay the price for that failure. He just hoped the information he had acquired would be enough to save his life.

"Enter," the cold hiss sounded from behind the closed door.

Composing himself, Lucius took a deep breathe and entered the lion's den, praying his master would have mercy.

"Luciusss, you show your cowardly face at last. Three days ago I sent you on a very important mission, one which you failed, and now you return, why?" Voldemort asked glaring murderously at his servant.

"My Lord please, I had to hide in the forbidden forest for days, I only returned home yesterday. Dumbledore had every teacher searching the grounds and I couldn't risk being caught. But my Lord, if I may, I have very important news you may like to hear."

As angry as Voldemort was, he couldn't deny himself the right to hear the news Malfoy spoke of. After all it could be prudent to his plans.

"This better be good, Lucius."

"Thank you my Lord." Malfoy said clearly relieved. "My son owled me yesterday, it seems that while Potter was recovering in the hospital wing, a large black dog could be seen keeping a vigilant watch by his bedside."

"Sirius' Animagus form." Voldemort said leaning forward in his chair and looking to Wormtail for conformation. At his servant's nod he hissed, "Go on."

"My son decided to watch the dog and Potter and sure enough, Black being as careless as always, revealed himself. Draco noted that when Potter awoke Black treated the boy like a son, and Potter seemed to care deeply for the convict."

Voldemort nodded, he already knew that Harry had a soft spot for Black, so what was Lucius' point.

Lucius, sensing his master's inpatients quickly made his point clear. "Draco overheard Black speaking to Dumbledore after Potter had left the hospital wing to check on the Fire Wolf. Black said he would be staying around the castle for the next week or so to make sure Potter was alright and out of danger. My point my lord, is that since all attacks on Potter himself have failed, maybe we should try a different approach. Weaken him, and then attack."

Voldemort sat forward and placed his chin on steepled fingers, obviously intrigued. "Your suggestion?"

"His heart, my Lord, first we attack his heart."

* * *

Lucius Malfoy was greatly relieved the next day as he stood with his fellow Deatheaters in Voldemort's large conference room. He may have been tortured because of his failure to kill the Potter boy, but at least Voldemort had let him live, for the information he had gathered.

Not only that but Voldemort had taken his suggestion to heart (if he had one) and had formulated a plan overnight that he had gathered his Deatheaters to hear that very day. So he waited patiently for his master to arrive as his comrades talked quietly around him.

"The boy wasn't as easy to kill as you thought, was he Lucius?" Goyle sneered and Garbe chuckled beside him.

"'I will take care of Potter for you my Lord.'" Garbe mocked using Lucius' earlier words. "Great job you did there, Lucius. I don't think Potter will give us anymore trouble from now on." He and Goyle laughed unabashedly for a few minutes before settling down and waiting quietly for their Master to arrive.

"As you already know," the cold voice of their Master broke the silence and sent chills down their spines, "Lucius failed to kill Potter, but we had a long discussion last night about how to proceed. Lucius informed me that Black, Potter's godfather, will be hanging around the castle until after Halloween to keep an eye on the boy. Now I have decided since we can't seem to kill the boy we go after the one thing he leaves vulnerable, because of Lucius' excellent suggestion." Quiet whispers rang through the room as Malfoy shot a smug look to Garbe and Goyle. "To bring Potter down, we must weaken him. How?" Silence reigned again, "Idiots, we must first destroy his heart, kill the people he loves and weaken him to the point where he breaks and begs us to kill him." Excited whispers ran through the room again. "Wormtail!"

"Yes my lord?" Wormtail asked stepping forward and bowing.

"Go to Hogwarts, sneak in as a rat, find Black and kill him." Voldemort ordered laughing a strangely chilling laugh. "We'll see how Potter likes that, you have until Halloween"

"Yes, my Lord." Wormtail complied bowing again and exiting the room in an excited fashion.

"Now Wormtail will take care of Black, does anybody have any news for me? We all already have been informed that Potter is an Animagus, so don't bother trying to tell me that." Voldemort asked sitting in his chair and staring at his followers.

"Sir, if I may?" Crabbe asked stepping forward and bowing. At Voldemort's nod he continued, "A while ago, Goyle sent the Jellitor to kill Potter but it was defeated, I did some checking around and found the reason Potter lived at the attack. It seems, my Lord that a Mystic Knight is currently residing in Hogwarts."

Gasps and shocked whispers rang through the room again.

"Silence!" Voldemort bellowed before turning to Crabbe again, "Are you sure?"

"Positive my Lord. I don't know the whole story but I do know that the Jellitor was defeated by a Mystic Knight."

"Why have they not shown themselves before?" Voldemort mused rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"I could be that they only arrived at Hogwarts this year?" Nott suggested.

Voldemort pondered this stroking his large snake Nagini absentmindedly.

"My lord?" Garbe questioned hesitantly, "What about the new girl that defeated my trolls during the summer. Could she be the Mystic Knight Crabbe speaks of?"

Voldemort nodded thinking that over, "Mystic Knights have been known to be called upon before their seventh year, if a powerful enemy surfaced, some as early as their sixth years. But never fifth years."

"Maybe this was an extra special case," Malfoy said pointedly, "She did, after all, defeat five trolls with ease."

Voldemort nodded, "I agree, good work Crabbe. Garbe, with Wormtail gone, you're the only other Animagus small enough to scuttle around the castle unnoticed. Go to Hogwarts and fetch the girl. I don't care how long it takes, I want Jessica Lock, we'll soon find out just how powerful she is."

* * *

Well here's another chapter for you, not as long as it should be but I wanted to put only Voldemort and his follower's in this chapter. Please tell me what you think. Cheers!


	17. Chatting with Cho

Here's chapter 17. Thanks to all who reviewed, I cant get enough.

* * *

October passed quickly for Harry and his friends, and before they knew it Halloween was only a day away.

The whole school now knew about the Mystic Knight roaming the halls, and just like Harry had predicted, they all believed it to be a seventh year. Between that and the school talking non-stop about Harry being an Animagus, the halls were never quiet, and Harry never had a moment's peace.

The Quidditch tryouts had been held the first week of October and Harry had been pleasantly surprised at how good Ron was. Gleefully giving him the Keeper position was his first decision as Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. The team had all decided that Harry would be best for the job the day of the tryouts themselves and Harry had accepted, clearly touched.

Jessica had continued her vigilant watch of the potions master, trying to decipher if he was truly as trustworthy as Dumbledore deemed him to be. She had told Harry one night that she didn't believe Snape was going to Deatheater meetings anymore. She had said that either Voldemort had not called any, which was unlikely because he seemed to want Harry dead more then ever, or Voldemort had purposely excluded him. She believed that Voldemort may have found out Snape was a spy for Dumbledore, which seemed much more likely to both of them.

But what worried Harry, Jessica, Ron and Hermione most was the lack of attacks by Voldemort and his followers. It had been three weeks since the attack of the Fire Wolf, which Harry had named Moondance and now spent his times wandering the Forbidden forest and Hogwarts halls, keeping watch over the students. It was beginning to unnerve Harry. Although the peace was a blessing to Harry he realized that If Voldemort wasn't attacking, then something big and, most definitely, bad was coming.

So now the friends sat in the Great Hall eating breakfast, the day before Halloween and edgier then ever.

"Harry you must really learn to relax," Kiara scolded as she nibbled some bacon she had swiped from Jessica's plate, "'What happens happens there is no way to change that. Just sit back and enjoy the peace until it is broken.'"

Harry sighed but said nothing, pushing scrambled eggs around his plate. Harry had actually managed to convince Hagrid that the Phoenix Lords had been in the forest and seemed to take a liking to the two of them. It took a while but Hagrid and the students stopped asking about them, finally accepting Harry's excuse. Now the Mystic Knights couldn't go anywhere without the birds. Harry appreciated that the Phoenixes wanted to protect them, but at times like these, when Harry wished to be alone with his brooding, he wished they would back off for a little while. But he would never tell them that, it would be rude and ungrateful.

Harry nearly jumped out of his seat when something cold and wet touched his hand. Looking under the table he saw the familiar black dog. "I'm ok Snuffles," he whispered stroking the dogs head, "just a little anxious I guess."

Snuffles whined and gave him a knowing look before lying at his feet again determined to stay by his Godsons side no matter what.

Harry sighed again, between Sirius, Kiara, Shire, Ron, Hermione, Greg and Jessica; Harry was being to feel a little suffocated. They were all worried about him, he could understand why too, but that didn't make their constant fussing any less annoying. They all knew he didn't sleep well, because of his nightmares, and they knew he wasn't eating much because of the constant foreboding feeling in the pit of his stomach. But he just wished they would give him some air, let him work this out on his own. Unfortunately for him that didn't look like it would happen any time soon.

The others, noticing his foul mood, said nothing about eating more as they saw his still full plate. They knew he was worried but they also knew they could do nothing to alleviate that tension. They would just have to wait until he snapped out of it.

"Double Potions first thing," Ron groaned shoving more eggs into his already full mouth. "Brilliant way to start a Friday morning." He muttered bitterly scowling at his schedule.

Hermione shot him a sympathetic smile, "Maybe he won't be so bad today?" she suggested.

For the past few weeks Snape had become totally unbearable, even to the Slytherins. Jessica had said it was probably because he realized that Voldemort wasn't calling him to meetings anymore. Snape probably thought the same thing she did; Voldemort knew he was a spy.

"Hopefully, but not likely," Jessica said pushing her plate away and leaning forward on her elbows, "I think he's going to be just as sour forever, or at least until Voldemort puts him out of his misery." She whispered laughing a little.

Harry and Ron joined her laughing, but Hermione looked scandalized.

"How can you say that?" she whispered harshly, "he's a human being and your talking about his death like it's a joke?"

Jessica rolled her eyes, "It was just a joke Granger, I was just lightening the mood. Besides they thought it was funny." She waved to Ron and Harry who were still chuckling.

Hermione huffed gathered her things and stalked out of the Great Hall.

Jessica rolled her eyes again, "Geez, she needs to get a sense of humor."

Harry shook his head feeling a little better, "Come on, we don't want to be late for Snape's class, he might throw us in Azkaban."

Laughing Ron and Jessica followed Harry out into the hall and towards the dungeons, Snuffles trailing behind them. They didn't get very far though because a certain Ravenclaw was suddenly blocking their way.

Harry groaned inwardly, 'Just what I need,' he thought plastering a fake smile on his face. "Hello cho, is there something I can help you with?"

"Actually I was wondering if I could talk to you," she whispered, "privately." she added looking pointedly at Ron, and Jessica.

Harry nearly groaned out loud, he was pretty sure what she wanted to talk about, and he wanted desperately to say no, but remembered the brush off he gave her last time. He didn't want to hurt her feelings again.

"I'll meet you in class," he told them taking Shire off his shoulder and handing him to Ron. His friends nodded and continued to the dungeons. Noticing Snuffles still sitting beside him and not wanting his Godfather to hear what she had to say he added, "You too Snuffles, go outside and run around or something." When the dog remained unwaveringly at his side he snapped, "NOW!"

Snuffles started and threw Harry an indignant glare before running to the entrance hall and out of sight.

"Sorry," Harry smiled sheepishly, "I can never get a moments peace with that dog hanging around. What did you want to speak to me about?"

Cho shyly returned the smile and began, "I wanted to tell you that... well... I don't blame you for Cedric's death, and I believe that you-know-who has indeed returned like you said. I think pretty much everyone does after what happened in the Great Hall, you know, with that Fire Wolf... the one that's hanging around the castle?"

Harry snorted inwardly, 'Yeah like I would forget him,' he thought

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well the Fire Wolf..." she was cut of by Harry when he said something about a moon and dancing. "What?" Did Harry just ask her to dance under the moon with him?

"His name is Moondance." Harry repeated.

"Oh, er, right. Well when Moondance and the Deatheater tried to kill you we all pretty much realized a Deatheater wouldn't just attack without being ordered. So I think that changed everyone's minds. I'm sorry I didn't believe you at first, I should have."

Harry shrugged, "Don't worry about it, nobody believed me except Dumbledore and my friends. I don't think I would have believed it had I not seen it. As the saying goes, 'seeing is believing'." He said.

She nodded a smile creeping onto her face, "You know the first Hogsmeade visit is coming up in a few weeks, right?"

Liking the change of subject Harry nodded. Come to think of it he did remember reading the notice on the bulletin board in the common room a few days ago. "Yeah, I'm surprised we can still go, what with Voldemort being back and all." He answered ignoring the Ravenclaw's wince at the mention of the Dark Lords name.

"Well apparently the teachers are going to take turns coming with us," Cho explained, "Three a trip, alternating shifts, you know? Anyways, I was wondering if... well maybe you... I mean." She took a moment to gather herself, "Harry do you want to go with me? To Hogsmeade I mean."

Harry was shocked, did Cho Chang, the popular Ravenclaw sixth year just ask him on a date? "You mean like a... date?"

Cho nodded enthusiastically; obviously glad he had picked up on that. "Yes, I mean a date. Just you, me and Hogsmeade."

Harry was speechless; he didn't know what to say. Cho Chang the girl; he had a crush on since last year just asked him out. Obviously there was only one thing he could say, "Er...sounds good. I'll see you then."

Cho beamed and skipped to her next class happily, leaving Harry to make his way dazedly towards potions.

* * *

Harry plopped down in his seat between Jessica and Ron that day at lunch, very much out of the stupor Cho had put him in that morning. He had been late for Potions and Snape had screamed at him for ten minutes before taking fifty points off Gryffindor and assigning him a detention. Harry had been livid, but managed to control himself before he cursed the grouchy greasy haired git.

"Snape can be a real ass," Ron told his best friend sympathetically. "Why were you so late anyway, I though Cho just wanted a quick word?"

"Well she just wanted to tell me she didn't blame me for Cedric's death and that she believes Voldemort really has returned." He hesitated now, not sure if he should tell Ron the rest.

"And?" Ron prompted knowing Harry wasn't telling him everything.

"And she wanted to ask me to go to Hogsmeade with her the first visit... on a date." He admitted a little reluctantly.

"Brilliant!" Ron said slapping Harry hard on the back, "You said yes right?"

"Yeah," Harry answered relived Ron was happy for him, "Of course I did."

"Good on you," Hermione added with a genuine smile, "It's about time you do something normal for a change. Dating is just a natural part of life, I'm proud of you Harry."

Harry turned to Jessica, his smile faltering a little, "Jess?"

Jessica looked up a smile showing on her face, Harry couldn't tell if it was sincere or not, "Congratulations Harry."

"Thanks." He whispered grinning, Harry wasn't sure why, but looking at Jessica made him want to dash to the Ravenclaw table and break the date with Cho. Forcing himself to shake the thoughts away he continued his meal, listening to the chatter of his friends as they continued on like nothing had happened. Jessica not once attempting to join in the conversation. She remained unusually quiet the rest of the day.

* * *

Well there's another chapter. A bit longer then the last one. I'm not real good at romance but I'll try my best. Should this story be a Harry/Cho or Harry/Jessica, any suggestions? Please review. Cheers!


	18. Serious with Sirius

I am sooooo sorry that this chapter took so long. But I just started a new job and have been real busy. But here it is. Harry and Sirius have a little chat and it's kinda slow but I'll have the next chapter up real soon. Please tell me what you think. Cheers!

* * *

"I don't appreciate being yelled at like that." Sirius scolded, that night in Harry's dorm room. His dorm mates were all asleep so Sirius had placed a silencing charm around Harry's bed and settled in for a long talk.

"Then next time leave when I ask you to." Harry retorted calmly. "I'm sick of everyone hanging around me all the time, give me some peace once in a while, would you?"

Sirius' scowl turned to a smile, "We're just worried about you."

"I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself. Or have you forgotten all the time's I went up against Voldemort and lived to tell about it. Not to mention the Deatheater attack a couple weeks ago."

"Fair enough," Sirius grinned, "Soooo..."

"So what?" Harry asked leaning back on his elbows and playing absentmindedly with his blanket.

"Come on Harry," his godfather whined, "What did the pretty girl want to talk to you about?"

"Oh that, well..."

"Harry!" Sirius warned.

The Gryffindor laughed and told the Animagus about his conversation with Cho.

"That's great," Sirius teased, "You've got yourself a girlfriend. Pretty soon she'll be picking out her wedding dress and...oh dear... I suppose I have to tell you all about the birds and the bees."

"Don't you dare," Harry cried mock-horrified, "besides its too late for that."

Now it was Sirius' turn to be horrified, "You didn't, please tell me you didn't."

Harry laughed, "You're so gullible, and of course I haven't. When have I ever had the time?"

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief and a comfortable silence filled the room. Sirius studied his godson for a moment before speaking again.

"Is it just me, or do you not feel as excited as you should be when going on your first date?" When Harry remained silent Sirius continued, "Is it because...maybe you're not going with the girl you really want to go with?"

Harry sat up at that, "What do you mean?"

"You know full well what I mean, Harry James Potter. I've seen how you look at her."

Harry was gob smacked, what was he talking about? For the life of him Harry couldn't even begin to guess who Sirius was talking about. "Sirius..." he began thinking there was a chance he was talking about one of Harry's best friends, "I don't think of her that way, and she likes Ron not me."

"No she doesn't," Sirius insisted a little confused, "Jessica definitely has a thing for you."

"No...JESSICA!" Harry cried, "That's who you were talking about, I thought you meant Hermione."

Sirius chuckled, "No Harry, Hermione definitely has a thing for Ron, it's obvious. Just like its obvious Jessica has her heart set on you."

"Really?" Harry asked clearly baffled.

"You really don't see it. You don't see the way she looks at you when she believes no one is looking. She's seems to be really good at hiding her emotions but I can see into her soul. She wants you Harry, and I think you want her too."

"No...I... she's just my friend."

Sirius shook is head sadly, "Deny it all you want Harry. But you and I know the truth. And by the time you realize what I'm sure you've been feeling all along, I hope, for your sake, it's not too late." Standing he made his way to the door turned back to look Harry in the eyes. "I have to go, Albus asked me to drop by his office tonight. Think about what I said Harry, the more you do, the sooner you'll realize I'm right. Goodnight."

* * *

The large black dog bounded down the hall at full speed, carelessly leaping down stairs and bounding over suits of armor. After chasing Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, he slowed to a trot and continued his way to Albus' office at a leisurely pace.

Suddenly he froze in place sniffing the air and straining to hear the whispering voice he was sure he had heard only seconds before.

"_Sirius..."_ the chilling voice whispered again, bouncing off the walls coming from seemingly nowhere. _"Sirius...I'm over here."_

Sirius whined a little before turning from a dog back into a man. Peeking around the corner closest to him, all Sirius saw was a solitary door open about an inch. Cautiously he moved to the door, stopping just to the side and peered through the gap. Breathing a sigh of relief when he saw nothing, and chalking the whole thing up to his imagination, Sirius moved to head back to Dumbledore's office.

"_Sirius...where are you going? Come and play... you know just like we used to...with Remus and James...you know you want to."_

"Pettigrew!" Sirius snarled realizing who was talking to him, "Come out you rat and finish what we started two years ago like a man."

"_Poor Sirius, such anger. Although anyone would be angry when they realize the only friend they had left is dead..."_

Sirius, who had been wildly searching the classroom, froze. A thousand thoughts swam through his head. Could it be true? Was Remus truly dead like Peter said?

"_Oops, that's right; you didn't know yet did you. I'm sorry you had to find out this way Sirius...but the Werewolf was just getting in my way."_

Rage bubbled inside Sirius, "No, it's not true, Remus is fine, you lying git. Now come out and face me you sniveling coward." He roared picking up a desk and throwing it across the room where it hit the wall and smashed into a thousand pieces. "Come on, what are you afraid of, eh? If you could kill Remus, with his Werewolf strength, then I should be a piece of bloody cake." A pause, "COME OUT!"

"As you wish," Wormtail said appearing in front of Sirius so suddenly, the dark haired wizard didn't have enough time to dodge the silver hand that darted out and gripped his throat. "You really shouldn't get your knickers in such a twist, its liable to get you in a spot of trouble."

Sirius grabbed at the hand, tightening around his neck, as he was lifted off the ground and slammed into the wall.

"You know Sirius, all through Hogwarts you, James, and Remus would tease me. Call me weak and say that I was holding you back, but I let that go. I believed you were really my friends that you didn't mean what you said, you were only playing around. Were you ever _really _my friends, Sirius?"

Sirius gasped trying to breathe, but managed a weak, "Yes, we really did think of you as our friend."

Wormtail laughed wryly, "You want to know the truth, Sirius. It was you three that were holding me back all those years ago. And now look at me," he gripped Sirius' throat tighter, "I'm right hand man to the most powerful wizard in the world. He gave me my new hand, and more power, soon he will rule and I will be right next to him. And look at you, and James, both dead at my hands."

"Remus?" Sirius chocked out eyes beginning to roll in the back of his head.

"Alive and still kicking, I'm afraid I haven't found him yet. But don't worry he will soon join you. Goodbye Sirius, I hope you see James, so you can tell him what has become of me."

Without warning Sirius suddenly dropped to the ground. A loud 'THUD' echoed through the room and when Sirius caught his breath he looked up to see what had become of his assailant. His eyes grew wide as dinner plates as he stared the body of his old friend. Peter Pettigrew had been split down the middle from groin to head.

Staggering to his feet up stared at the figure holding the bloody sword. He stared at his savior, the Mystic Knight.

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What do you think, please let me know. Cheers!


	19. The Unthinkable

Hey guy's here's the next chappie. Enjoy!

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Jessica had been heading back to the Gryffindor common room when she heard the shout, 'COME OUT'. Interested, she changed direction and followed the voice. It had brought her to the classroom both Sirius and Peter were in.

As she listened to the two marauder's conversation, she felt the anger bubble in her. _'As_ _if Harry's life wasn't difficult enough'_ she thought, _'now that stupid rat wants to take away the only family he has left.'_

On its own accord, Jessica's sword suddenly appeared in her hands. Gripping it tightly she waited for the perfect moment to attack.

When Wormtail mentioned James, Jessica lost it. Without a second thought she jumped behind the Animagus and with one mighty swing split the traitorous rat right down the middle. A large spurt of blood hit her and she stumbled back a little in shock.

Only one thought came to her mind as she stared unbelieving at the body oozing blood all over the stone floor, _'What have I done...'_

* * *

Sirius stared at the shell shocked girl still holding the bloody sword. She hadn't moved a muscle since she had struck a minute ago. Her eyes were wide and her hands were shaking so much she lost grip of her sword sending it clattering to the ground.

"Jessica..." Sirius ventured timidly as he pulled himself off the ground and stepped toward the distraught girl.

Jessica looked up with glazed eyes, her knees went weak and she started to collapse, she barely noticed when two arms encircled her and kept her from hitting the floor. Nor did she notice when the same arms helped her into a chair.

Jessica had been told by Greg many times that she and Harry might have to kill during this war. But never, not once, had she given it any real thought, but now the reality of this war had finally hit her. Killing a human, no matter how evil, wasn't the same as destroying a troll or another magical creature. How was she supposed to stand by Harry in this war if she took the death of one jerk so hard?

For once in her life the infallible Jessica did the unthinkable, she let the sweet blackness of oblivion wash over her. Jessica Lock had fainted.

* * *

Sirius was once again running through the halls, except this time carrying an unconscious, not to mention bloody, Jessica in his arms. Running as fast as he could on two feet, he finally managed to make it to his destination.

Saying the password he sprinted up the stairs and barged through the door at the top.

"Ah, welcome Sirius." The headmaster said not looking up from his notes, "You're late." This time he did look up and the usual mischievous twinkle disappeared from his eyes as he took in the man.

If the large hand shaped bruise on Sirius' neck was no indication that something had happened, the bloody, and unconscious Jessica he was laying on a conjured couch was.

"What happened?" He demanded standing and moving quickly toward the girl. Once satisfied she had no injuries he turned back to Sirius.

The Animagus had sat himself in a chair and was wearily running his hand through his hair.

Once Dumbledore had seated himself, Sirius told him what had happened. From the voices, to Jessica fainting, and everything in between. In the end he pulled a tiny object from his pocket and enlarged it to his original size.

Setting the sword on the Headmasters desk he retook his seat and asked, "Is this what I think it is, Albus?"

Dumbledore gently reached for the beautiful sword tracing Jessica's name, which was engraved into the metal, before gazing in awe at the jewels of Faith, Strength, Charity and Justice that resided on its golden hilt.

When Dumbledore still had not answered him, Sirius repeated his question. "Albus, is this the sword of a Mystic Knight?"

Tearing his eyes away from the extraordinary sword lain on his desk, he met his friends' eyes. "Yes, Sirius, this is indeed just that. A sword belonging to the mythical savior the Mystic Knight."

Sirius sat back in his chair, stunned. "That means..." he whispered glancing at the object of his Godsons affection (whether he knew it or not). When Dumbledore nodded Sirius blurted out, "That's not possible, she's just a child!"

Dumbledore looked amused, "I assure you it is possible. I'm not sure how, but I think I know who could tell us." Rising from his seat he walked to his fireplace, threw some floo powder in, followed quickly by his head.

Sirius could not hear what Albus was talking about, or who was on the other side of the conversation. But a few seconds later Dumbledore pulled his head back out and retook his seat.

"What was that about?"

Dumbledore just smiled, the twinkle having returned to his eye and told the confused man to wait a few minutes for his other guest to arrive.

Minutes later the door opened and Sirius stared at the man standing there. "What are you doing here?"

* * *

Alright who believed Harry was the one who saved Sirius. Come on be truthful now. I know some of you may think Jessica is a little out of character in this chapter but we all have to remember she's just a 15 year old girl. No matter how calm and collected she may seem, it would still affect her when she killed someone. After all, she's only human. I hope you all liked this chapter, and the next one will be up real soon. I'm starting to ramble, but luckily I only have one thing left to say. Thank you for all your reviews and I hope you continue to review. Cheers!


	20. The truth comes out

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the concept of the Mystic Knights and the new Characters.

Here's chapter twenty for you, Enjoy!

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Greg Talon smiled at the confused glance Sirius had shot him and Dumbledore. When Dumbledore had called and told him to come to his office right away he never expected Sirius Black to be sitting there staring at him. Greg, of course, knew that Sirius was innocent, having been told by Harry over the summer. But he had been led to believe that Sirius was still on the run from the ministry and wasn't supposed to show himself to strangers.

Apparently this was indeed the case, as all of a sudden, coming out of his confused stupor Sirius Black stumbled out of his chair and backed away looking panicked.

Shooting an accusatory glance at the amused Dumbledore he yelled, "You knew he was coming and didn't tell me. Well that's just great now he's seen me and is going to attack me because he doesn't know that I'm innocent!"

Dumbledore and Greg, who still hadn't moved from the doorway, exchanged amused glances.

"Does it look like Professor Talon is going to attack you?" Dumbledore asked clearly amused. "I do believe he already knows of your innocence, as he was told by a certain Gryffindor over the previous summer." Turning to the amused DADA Professor he smiled, "Please take a seat."

Greg nodded his thanks and sat facing the old wizard. "What is this all about Albus?"

Sirius looked between the two clearly confused but retook his place as well listening intently.

"I believe these belong to you." He motioned toward the sword lain upon his desk and the still unconscious Jessica on his couch.

Greg glanced at Jessica and the sword, his face remaining indifferent, he raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that Albus? She is merely a student of mine."

The twinkle in the aged wizard's eye grew to almost blinding proportions. "A student indeed. I wonder how much exactly you have taught her that hasn't been in the curriculum."

Sirius was completely lost now, as the Headmaster and the DADA teacher locked gazes and seemed to have a battle without moving of speaking. He was even more baffled when Greg smiled and chuckled, a few minutes later.

"You are more perceptive then I believed you to be, Albus. I suppose you already had everything figured out a long time ago." He moved from his chair and kneeled beside the prone figure of his protégé, stroking her hair in an almost fatherly way. "But I am curious as to how you knew about me. My confidants are long since passed away and I know they would not have betrayed my trust. So how is it you knew who I was?"

Sirius had had enough, "What the hell are you two talking about? What's going on?"

"I have my ways," Dumbledore continued as if he had not heard the irritated Animagus. "I have the rare ability to see any person's aura; it comes in quite useful at times. You see, your aura is much different then normal wizards. A normal wizard's aura is filled with colors such as Pink, Blue, purple,Yellow and Orange. An Evil Wizard has Black, Grey and a deep Brown in theirs. But yours, Harry's and Jessica's have only Gold, Silver and the purest White imaginable. Normally I would have thought nothing of it, chalked it up to you being extremely powerful. Except I remembered seeing the same thing in my youth. A Mystic Knight had saved me form a terrible fate at the hands of an angry vampire, and he had the exact same aura that you three possess. Imagine my surprise when at the end of last year you walk in looking to take the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, only to have the aura I had witnessed many years ago."

Greg smiled softly, tearing his eyes away from Jessica. "How did you know I had taken Harry?" he asked remembering Harry had said that Dumbledore seemed to know that he had been with Greg all summer.

"I knew that Harry was capable of great things and when he disappeared just days after you had taken the job, I knew that it was time for him to find his destiny. When I saw him at the Weasley's, and saw the unmistakable aura of the Mystic Knight, I was sure about what had happened."

Sirius was totally flabbergasted now, "Harry… Mystic Knight…Jessica… and…" then he turned angry, "YOU. YOU KIDNAPPED HARRY. YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME AND CAUSED ME TO WORRY FOR WEEKS ABOUT WETHER OR NOT YOU-KNOW-WHO HAD GOTTEN HIM!"

Greg stood and faced the seething man, "Yes, I took Harry. But I trained him and taught him to how to defend himself, as you saw when he fought that Fire Wolf. Harry has learned much and is finally ready to face his destiny."

Sirius calmed down a little, "What is this destiny you two are talking about?"

Greg took a deep breath and stated the Prophesy that only Harry, Jessica, Dumbledore and himself knew about.

**"**_**The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"** (_This excerpt came from the fifth book, OOTP, and I don't own it as all rights belong to J..)

Sirius stared in complete disbelief, "I don't understand," he whispered leaning back in his chair, "W-what does that mean?"

"It means," a voice from the couch spoke up, "That Harry will either have to kill Voldemort or be killed by him."

The three Wizards turned to Jessica, who at that moment was looking a little worse for wear.

"You should probably get some sleep," Greg said helping the girl to her feet, "Your not looking too good."

She laughed bitterly, "You wouldn't feel so good if _you _had just killed another person either."

Greg sighed sadly but only said one word, "Who?"

"Peter Pettigrew," Dumbledore answered when it became apparent Jessica would not. "He attacked Sirius this evening and Jessica intervened before he could kill him."

"I don't know what happened." She whispered hugging herself, "I was just so angry that he didn't even care about the people he would be hurting by killing Sirius, I flipped and killed him without giving it a second thought. Then... when I had realized what I had done…"

"You did what you had too, you fought honorably…" Greg started but was cut off by the distraught girl.

"I didn't even give him a fair chance!" she cried, "I killed him while his back was turned, what's so honorable about that?" She shook her head, "I'm no better then he was."

Greg turned angry, "Don't say that, your worth a world more then he was." He gently touched her shoulders, "You know that don't you?"

She sighed and sat back down on the couch placing her head in her hands, "I don't know what to think right now."

Greg sighed and looked at the troubled girl sadly. He turned to Dumbledore and Sirius and noticed the worried looks they both held for the young Gryffindor.

After several minutes of silence, Jessica stood again and made her way to the door.

"I'm going to bed; I'll see you all later." She stopped, apparently thinking, and snapped her fingers, her scabbard appeared empty. "Have you seen my….thanks." She took the sword Greg offered her put it back in its rightful place and turned to leave once more.

"Come to my office tomorrow morning, its Saturday so you don't have any classes," Greg said, "We should talk about what happened."

With a nod of acknowledgment Jessica shut the door soundly behind her. Once she had finally reached the Gryffindor girls dormitories she took a long shower then she settled into bed for a restless night.

* * *

Well there it was, I hope I explained how Dumbledore knew about Greg and Harry well enough. Please review with any ideas of suggestions you may have. Cheers!


	21. Admissions and Realizations

This chapter is longer then some, as a reviewer kindly pointed out my chapters are annoyingly short. I'll try to do better but can't promise anything. Enjoy!

* * *

Voldemort was once again livid, Wormtail had not returned and it was already two days into November.

"Can anyone tell me what happened to Wormtail?" he asked his followers in a deceptively calm voice, although his eyes betrayed just how angry he was.

Silence rang through the graveyard as all were to afraid to be the one to give their lord the bad news. Finally after what seemed like hours, one timid voice form the back of the crowd spoke up.

"Please my Lord, it would s-seem that Wormtail was…" the young rookie trailed off, momentarily flustered by the Dark Lords red eyes boring into his, "We found out only h-hours ago that…" taking a deep breath he quickly spit out the rest of the news. "Wormtail failed in destroying Sirius Black and instead died himself."

The whole group tensed waiting for the explosion they were sure was to come. Several seconds later they realized that the Dark Lord had yet to start dishing out punishments, and were confused.

"My Lord?" Lucius Malfoy asked confusion and relief evident in his voice.

"So…" Voldemort seethed barely keeping his anger in check. "Wormtail failed. I suppose it was to be expected. He always was worthless and pathetic. Garbe?"

Garbe stepped forward and shook his head regretfully. "It would seem that Dumbledore has added extra protection to the castle. He enchanted the entire grounds to alert the whole school when an Animagus is on grounds. I haven't been able to get near the place let alone kidnap the girl."

Fury seized Voldemort's entire body as he whipped out his wand and moved it threateningly from one person to another, watching in satisfaction as they flinched and involuntarily stepped back.

"So both Potter and Lock are safe, Wormtail is dead, and Black knows we're after him." He recapped staring his Death Eaters down as they nodded. "And we are right back where we started." More nods this time more hesitant, "You may all leave, I'll call you when I have another route of action. Malfoy! Garbe! You two stay."

Once the others had left Voldemort turned to his two most trusted followers, "Potter has lived despite our efforts and the week of the rebirth is quickly approaching. I don't care how you do it or when, but get rid of Potter. And the girl, she could prove quite dangerous as well, both must die. Garbe, leave, I must speak with Lucius."

Garbe nodded and disapparated (sp?) with a pop.

"My lord?" Lucius questioned.

"Lucius, I believe its almost time to enlist your son into the ranks." A cruel sneer spread across his snake like lips as he added, "And I have the perfect assignment for his initiation."

November passed into December fairly quickly for Harry and his friends, and before they knew it Christmas was only a few days away.

Gryffindor had had their first Qudditch game against the Slytherins and had once again come out on top winning by 200 points.

Much to the surprise of everyone though, Draco just didn't seem to care that Harry had once again bested him. In fact all the fighting spirit that had once made Draco who he was seemed to have completely vanished. No longer did he insult the other students, nor did he talk back to the teachers. And he completely ignored all the Slytherins these days' always seeming to be deep in thought as if trying to make a difficult decision.

Harry had noticed the change immediately after Draco had received a letter the second week into November. The cool confident and cruel Draco was gone only to be replaced by the quiet, emotionally closed off Draco of today. The sudden changes in Draco had Harry slightly worried about the Slytherin. He had the terrible feeling that Draco was involved in something very bad. And decided that even though he never liked the platinum haired boy, he would try to help him anyway he could.

Jessica had gotten over what had happened with Wormtail (to the relief of many) after a week of brooding and deep thinking. Although Harry and the others knew she would never entirely forget they also knew that she wouldn't dwell on what had happened either. The talk she had with Greg had really helped her put things in perspective. Harry would forever be grateful that she had saved Sirius' life, but he couldn't help but regret that the truth about what had happened to his parents had forever died along with Peter Pettigrew.

Sirius, after his near death experience, had resolved to spend as much time with Harry as possible. They talked about many things, some serious others just completely ridiculous, and grew a lot closer. But whatever the subject both Harry and Sirius found that they were just happy to be in each others company.

The first Hogsmeade trip had come and passed without a hitch, much to the surprise of Harry and the others. The only problem had been Harry's date with Cho, which hadn't ended as well as he would have hoped.

The day up to the point of Harry meeting Cho had passed with tension between Harry and Jessica, and when it was time to go to Hogsmeade Jessica had disappeared without a word to any of them. Harry couldn't help but think about what Sirius had told him, and he had to admit it did make sense as to why he hadn't been looking forward to this date with Cho.

Their walk to Hogsmeade was uneventful, as was their trip around the Hogsmeade stores. Cho had been content to rattle on about inane things while Harry was deep in thought over a certain spiky haired girl. After what seemed like hours to Harry he had suggested they head to the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer. Most of their time in there had been spent with Cho again talking and Harry 'listening' (although his mind was definitely not on Cho's subject about her favorite lip gloss), as they sipped their drinks and munched on peanuts.

"Harry, are you even listening to me?" Cho had asked a little peeved at her date's inattentiveness.

"Hum?" Harry had asked startled out of his thoughts, "Er…yeah sure… you were talking about…Potions?" was the first thing that came to mind.

Cho glared angrily, "What _is_ your problem Harry James Potter. Have you even listened to a word I've said all day? Merlin, you can be such a clod sometimes."

Harry had turned angry, "Well _excuse_ me. I'm sorry if I had more important things on my mind then what color you look best in, or how you should wear your hair." He had snapped rolling his eyes and slumping back in his chair.

It was no surprise that things had escalated from there and more words were exchanged between the heated pair. And in the end Cho had thrown her drink in his Harry's face and stormed out saying she never wanted to seem him again. _'Always the Drama Queen,'_ Harry had thought at the time.

The news of the fight had spread through the Castle faster then the news of the Mystic Knight roaming the halls. Ravenclaws and Gryffindors squared off both saying their respective house member had been in the right. Add that to the Gryffindors fierce rivalry with the Slytherins and there wasn't a moment in the following two weeks that wasn't filled with fighting, or hostile activity in the halls and classes. Hufflepuff refused to pick sides preferring to let the others fight their own battles.

Luckily, before things got out of hand, Harry and Cho called a truce and everything pretty much went back to normal; except for the occasional barb or two.

So now Harry was seated in the Gryffindor common room thinking about the last month and a half while his friends talked joyously about the upcoming holidays.

"The whole Weasley clan is going to be home this year." Ron was saying as he leaned back on the couch. Hermione was on his left while Ginny was on his right, Harry and Jessica took up the two armchairs. Gazing to his best friend he noticed Harry's far off look. "You alright, mate?"

Broken out of his reverie the boy in question looked up, "Er…yeah, I was just thinking about the last few weeks."

Ron, Hermione and Ginny all nodded sympathetically, they knew his thoughts were mainly on his disastrous date with Cho and the events that followed.

Ron, seeing Jessica flinch slightly after the subtle mention of Cho, decided to get back to lighter topics, so moved back to what he had been speaking of before.

"So as I was saying everyone is goona be home this year. Charlie and Bill are coming in for the full two weeks of vacation and Percy is joining us as well. Although he'll only be with us the last week, as his boss at the Ministry Of Magic won't allow for anymore time off."

_**(AN: If you could all please forget everything about Percy and his job in book four it would be greatly appreciated. I just couldn't resist dissing Percy a little. Sorry in advance to all those Percy fans out there. Cheers!)**_

Harry looked slightly startled, "Percy works at the Ministry? You never mentioned that."

Ginny giggled as Ron snorted somewhat angrily, "Ron and my brothers don't like talking about it much. Percy tends to act a little snobbish whenever his job is brought up."

"A little," Ron spat, "He acts like he's the bloody Queen of England."

Jessica leaned forward in her seat as she raised an eyebrow, "And what does he do, exactly?"

Ginny's smile lit her whole face and even Ron smirked as she told them, "He delivers mail."

Harry and the others roared with laughter for a good few minutes before Hermione managed to calm down enough to speak.

"H-he delivers mail! How can anyone be conceited about that?"

"Well," Ron said with a full blown smile, "apparently he's the only one in the post room that has been deemed fir to hand deliver Fudge's mail personally. So he believes he plays an incredibly important part in the running of the Ministry. But apparently dad heard that Percy's co-workers refused to deliver Fudge's mail anymore because he a git, so they made Percy take him his mail. Percy thinking a great honor was being bestowed upon him, immediately took the job, and seems to be enjoying it. So now he acts like a great buffoon every time someone brings up his work or the Ministry of Magic."

Harry chuckled and shook his head, you could always trust the Weasley's to lighten up your mood, and today was no exception.

"Anyway," Ron said trying to get back to the subject of Christmas, "Mom wanted me to ask you if you want to join us at the Burrow for Christmas this year. She's already invited Lupin and Sirius so they can join you."

"Uh, sounds good to me but…" Harry said thoughtfully, "Truth be told I hadn't thought much about the holidays, I just assumed I would stay here as always. But let me talk to Greg and I'll get back to you."

Ron's only answer was a smile and nod.

"What about you, Jessica, what are you doing for the holidays?" Ginny asked turning her attention to the quiet girl.

"You know…a little of this and a little of that." Came the vague reply as she shifted somewhat uncomfortably.

"Are you going home to your family," Hermione pressed eager to get something out of the secretive Gryffindor, "assuming you have one." Catching Harry's sharp look she quickly defended herself, "Well it's not like she ever mentioned them is it? All these months and I haven't heard a word about her parents. Have you?" she challenged when Harry shook his head in exasperation.

Before he could say anything, realization dawned on him, "Actually, I haven't. I just always assumed that she did. You do, don't you? Have a family I mean."

Jessica sighed, "Define 'family'." She mumbled barely audible. Seeing their looks she elaborated a little, "Everyone has a family at one point or another in their lives."

Harry threw his hands in the hair with exasperation, "What the hell does that mean?"

The others were equally confused but chose to remain quiet as they pondered what Jessica had said, trying to decipher the cryptic message.

Jessica shrugged her face emotionless, and Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes, only when he saw the slow smile spread across her face did he realize she was just teasing him. He gave her a fondly exasperated look that clearly asked for her to stop the crap and be honest.

She laughed sadly her initial amusement at their frustration gone, "I don't really talk about my family, it's been tough the last seven and a half months. But yes, I have a mom and dad, and I had a little brother named Jason."

"Had?" Harry questioned gently. Considering the time line, he realized the answer must have had something to do with her expulsion from her old school. "Did something happen last year at Beauxbatons? Something to do with your brother and your expulsion?"

She sighed and sunk down in her chair, "My brother's first, and only, year at Beauxbatons was last year," she started refusing to look at any of her friends, "Merlin, he was so excited, all he would talk about the summer before was all the things he would learn, all the stuff he would see, people he would meet…" she took a moment to collect herself, aware of the concerned eyes of her friends on her. "We had a new potions professor that year, as the regular one, Professor Dracken, took the year off to deal with 'personal issues' as our Headmistress, Madame Maxime, said. The new guy, Professor Alban Fox, was as clueless about potions as Gilderoy Lockhart was about Defense Against the Dark Arts. But he was apparently the best Madame Maxime could find in the short notice Professor Dracken gave her. Besides the job shouldn't be that hard should it, I mean all he had to do was follow the lesson plan Dracken left him, and copy the instructions for the potions onto the blackboard from the books Dracken left." She snorted disdainfully, looking at each of her friends in turn, "But Fox was too much of a moron to be able to do anything right, and copying down the proper instructions proved to be too hard for him. All throughout the beginning of the year there were accidents in the potions lab. Just small things here and there, singed eyebrows, faces covered in huge warts, people turned different colors. But I knew that if something wasn't done someone was going to get seriously injured. But I never said anything, just thought as long as I was careful and got my instructions straight from the book, it would be ok. I told Jason to do the same thing, which he agreed to. In fact almost every student in the school started doing it, knowing the dangers of some of the ingredients they decided not to take any chances. And the accidents in the Potion's lab ceased"

Getting up from the chair she was in Jessica walked to the window and looked out into the Forbidden forest, which looked even more ominous when masked in the unforgiving darkness of night.

Taking a deep breath, to calm herself, she continued her story, "About Two months before the end of the school year my brother and the others first years were in Potions class. The potion they were making had Monksbane in it, and for some godforsaken reason, Fox had told them to add some dragons blood as well. You know as well as I do what happens when those two ingredients are added together."

Hermione nodded thinking back to her notes, "When Monksbane and Dragons blood are mixed together they combine into an explosive substance with highly acidic qualities. Placing a mixture of the two on or near anything hot will cause a huge explosion."

Jessica nodded, smiling slightly at Hermione's vast knowledge. "Right, even the first years knew this. And they refused to add such a combination together, pleading with Professor Fox to recheck the book and its instructions." She shook her head sadly, "But Fox believed he was right, after all, the accidents had stopped and he believed it was because he had gotten better at his job. So, wanting to prove to the students he was right, he grabbed a bottle of Dragon's blood and dumped it into Jason and his lab partner's cauldron. Unfortunately the cauldron was already simmering over their burner and the result was terrible. Fox was blasted into the wall at the far end of the room, but remained relatively unharmed. Jason and his partner, Chris, d-died, and half the class was burned by the acidic substance created by the mixed ingredients…"

"Then what happened?" Harry asked softly, wanting nothing more then to hug the distraught girl, but was unsure if he were allowed to.

Jessica turned back to her friends tears evident in her eyes. She swiped her eyes angrily and continued, "When I, and the rest of the school, had found out what happened I was pissed. And my rage at _Fox,_" here she spat his name as if something had crawled in her mouth and died leaving a bad taste behind, "overwhelmed me and I went to the hospital wing looking for him. I found him already patched up and talking to Madame Maxime and our Transfiguration teacher, Professor Fritz. He was insisting that he had not been at fault, that Jason and Chris had added the Dragon's blood for 'kicks'. Madame Maxime had already talked to the class and knew he was lying and told him as much. Knowing that he had been caught in his lie, he said it wasn't his fault that she had hired him, even after knowing he didn't know that much about Potions. That was the last straw, and I attacked him, first with my words then with my fists. Madame Maxime and Professor Fritz had to drag me off of him before I killed him." She paused and rubbed her eyes tiredly, "Madame Maxime didn't blame me for what I did, and surprisingly neither did Fox. I think he didn't press charges because he didn't want to admit he had been beaten by a fourteen year old girl. But rules were rules. I had attacked a teacher, even if he was incompetent, and I had to be punished. So she did what she had to do, she expelled me. I'm actually grateful for that, it got me away from that school and the bad memories of what happened there."

Stunned silence followed Jessica's lengthy admission, none knowing what to say. Hermione and Ginny were both weeping slightly and even Ron and Harry looked close to crying.

Jessica didn't need them to say anything; just having told her friends had helped her greatly. She felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and was eternally grateful for such good friends. Even she and Hermione had become closer after the events of Halloween, and didn't fight anymore like they used to. Which pleased Jessica greatly; Hermione was an important part of Harry's life and she owed it too him to try and be nice to the brunette. She was also pleased to note that Hermione was a good friend once you got to know her, and was looking forward to becoming better friends with her.

Feeling completely drained both emotionally and physically, she bid her quiet friends goodnight and headed up to bed.

* * *

Draco Malfoy sat on his bed in the fifth year boy's dormitory of Slytherin contemplating the dilemma that had seized his mind a few weeks ago.

He could go to his father and explain the problem. Almost immediately he knew this was an impossibility. His father was too tightly woven with he who must not be named, and Draco knew his loyalties lied with the dark lord alone.

Snape was another option, but again Draco dismissed this idea. Snape would go straight to the muggle loving fool Dumbledore, and Draco needed a bit of subtlety when dealing with his problem.

His friends were definitely out of the question. As he had found out the hard way in DADA class, they were not his friends at all. This was made evident when they had not helped to try and dislodge the Lethifold that had tried to kill him.

That left him with only one choice. As much as he hated to admit it, Draco knew he could be trusted and he knew how to keep a secret, but what Draco wasn't sure of was whether or not he would help him. All the Slytherin knew was that he had to try. He had to put his pride aside and approach him, asking for help.

So finally the pale haired Slytherin decided to talk to him after the Christmas Holidays. And with a solution in mind Draco laid down and had the best night's sleep of his life.

* * *

_**AN: If you could all please forget everything about Percy and his job in book four it would be greatly appreciated. I just couldn't resist dissing Percy a little. Sorry in advance to all those Percy fans out there. Cheers!) **_ there you go another chapter. What do you think? Your reviews keep this story going. I'll post next as soon as I can. I've decided to try and write a page a day. Cheers!


	22. The burrow

I am sooooo sorry this took so long. I know it's kinda short but its better then nothing right?

* * *

Christmas Eve had finally arrived and the entire Weasley clan, including Harry, Sirius and Remus (who had just arrived at the Burrow that morning), were enjoying a fantastic meal. The week leading up to the day in question had been the best Harry had ever experienced and he looked forward to one more week of vacation before returning to Hogwarts.

Despite being questioned by everyone (except those who knew) at least once about what he had been doing during the summer holidays, the week had been filled with fun. Qudditch games galore and wizarding chess, even some exploding snap had monopolized the young Mystic Knights time for most of the week.

The fact that Shire and Kiara had opted to remain at Hogwarts with Moondance for the holidays brightened Harry's mood considerably. He loved the animals dearly but he couldn't stand them hanging about him all the time. They were smothering him and he was relieved to get away from them for a little while.

Unfortunately Harry had been in a bit of a funk every once in a while, brought on by his separation from fellow Mystic Knights Jessica, and Greg. Even though he tried not to dwell on it too much he still got into moods and the others had learned from experience not to bug him about it. Except Sirius, who liked to tease Harry in private, saying that Harry was just upset because he had to spend two weeks away from his 'girlfriend'. To which Harry had adamantly denied any romantic notions between the two, but even he seemed to doubt his rejections.

Harry was brought back from his thoughts when the crowd around him had roared with laughter once again. 'That seems to happen a lot at the Weasley's,' Harry thought.

"So…then Minister Fudge said to Percy, 'Thank you…Weatherby!'" Mr. Weasley said in between deep breathes, causing the table to cascade into another round of boisterous laughing.

"Weatherby!" George roared wiping his tears away as Fred dropped his head unto his shoulder trying to breathe between his giggles.

Percy, by this point, was redder then a tomato, but still tried to defend his esteemed Minister of Magic. "Mr. Fudge is a busy man…I'm sure he just thought I was someone else. After all he was late for a meeting."

Charlie nudged the embarrassed red head gently with his elbow, "Oh sure, whatever you say… Weatherby."

The group roared with laughter again as Percy excused himself from the table and stomped up the stairs to his room his head held high as he muttered about his 'childish family'.

"I wish you wouldn't tease Percy so much," Mrs. Weasley chided once the group had settled down.

"He deserves it," Bill protested spearing a potato and shoving it into his mouth. Chewing and swallowing he continued, "All week long he's been going on about how much more important his job is. And I think anyone at this table would agree delivering mail is not more essential then my job or Charlie's job. Now that isn't to say Charlie's dragon training, or my curse breaking for Gringotts are the most important jobs in the world. But come on mom, how can you possibly compare them?"

Molly sighed and shook her head, "Just try to take it easy on him, it can't be easy knowing that your idol can't remember your name." the twitch of her lips, as she tried not to smile, was enough to send the group into another round of giggles.

"So what do you think _is_ the best job in the world?" Sirius asked.

Silence reigned as the table thought about that question for a while. Each had the image of the something else in their minds eye.

"I, personally, think Dumbledore's job might be." Bill said seriously. "And I don't mean just his job as Headmaster, but his being the leader of the light in the fight against you-know- who."

Many nods of agreement went around the table, and just as many 'I agrees' followed. But two heads remained motionless.

"I disagree," George said, "There is one _much _more important job in the world." Fred nodded vigorously by his side, but his face never once shifted from its serious expression.

"Who could possibly more important then Dumbledore and what he represents in this world?" Molly sputtered sounding slightly scandalized.

"Someone who spends his entire life helping those who need help. Someone who stares death in the face without hesitation because it's his job and it's what he lives for. Someone who dedicates his life to the light."

"Someone who, until recently, everyone thought was just a legend." Fred said. Seeing the still confused looks on his families face he shared a look with George and nodded.

"The Mystic Knight!" they both blurted grins spreading across their faces.

The reactions were just as they hoped. Harry, who had been sipping his drink at the time, had spit it all back out unto a shell shocked Sirius. Ginny and Ron stared at the twins dumbfounded. Arthur, Charlie, and Bill stared in confusion and something akin to hope at the thought that Mystic Knights were real. Remus and Molly looked downright skeptical.

"Poppycock," scoffed waving a hand dismissively in their direction. "There is no such thing as a Mystic Knight."

Harry prayed to anyone that was listening that this conversation would end. But unfortunately the gods seemed to be on a coffee break, as George continued.

"I think Harry's friend Jessica would be inclined to disagree with you." Fred said casually picking at his carrots. "Seeing as how she was saved by one a while ago."

"That's not possible… I demand you stop making these stories up at once." Molly stated firmly.

"It's true," George said hotly, "We overheard Mcgonagall, and Dumbledore talking about it. And the news spread around the school so fast, I'm sure by now everyone in England is aware of the Mystic Knights return. I'm surprised you didn't know."

Remus, had been in and out of the country running errands for Dumbledore, and somehow he just never heard any of this from anyone.

Bill and Charlie were back in England for the first time in many months, so it wasn't surprising that they didn't know, but for some reason Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were totally out of the loop. No one thought much of it though; they just assumed the couple had been too busy worrying about Voldemort to listen to little things that went on at Hogwarts.

Seeing he had the full attention of the adults George quickly explained what had happened at school involving the Mystic Knight. He watched his parents, brothers, and former teacher's face as they lit up in shock, awe and hope.

"A Mystic Knight?" Charlie whispered his food forgotten. "Wow, that's unbelievable."

Silence reigned over the table for a few minutes.

"Is it too late to change my answer?" Bill asked jokingly, but his tone more serious then ever.

The rest of the evening passed pleasantly. After the group of adults got over the initial shock of the kids latest Hogwarts adventure, topics turned to lighter subjects. And before they knew it everyone had retreated to bed except two lone figures seated comfortably on the couch.

"Still miss her, eh?" Sirius couldn't help but tease his godson.

Harry shot the man a glare, "I miss them both, they're like family to me. It just doesn't feel right not having them _both_ with me on Christmas." He stated defiantly putting great emphasis on the fact he wanted both his new friends to be there.

"Riiight…" Sirius snickered gently cuffing the Gryffindor on the shoulder. "So I heard you 'outed' yourself in front of Bill and Charlie."

Harry stared at the man confused, but then a smirk made its way onto his face, "Yeah, well they would have found out soon anyway. I just decided to have a little fun with them," he stated referring to the fact he had 'outed' himself as an Animagus. At Sirius chuckle and request to hear about it, Harry complied.

FLASHBACK…

"_Hey Harry." Bill Weasley asked standing in front of the boy, a smile on his face._

"_Bill! Hey, just got in?" Harry asked setting down his text book, as he shifted on the grass and leaned against the tree he had sought shade under, It had been an unusually warm winter so far and snow had yet to touch the ground. Looking up he focused his attention on the tall red head._

"_Yep,"_

_Harry frowned lightly, not in the least liking the decidedly evil smirk that spread across the man's face. "What's up?" he asked curiously, if not a little wearily_

"_The sky," he deadpanned._

_Harry, thinking the answer might be some kind of clue, looked up only to splutter and gasp for air as about two dozen water balloons fell on his face and completely drenched the young Gryffindor._

_Bill roared with laughter, and when Harry had collected his bearings, he looked up into the tree and saw Charlie, Fred, and George perched there, their laughs nearly causing them to fall from the tree_

_Calmly the young Mystic Knight stood and shook himself off much like a dog, or panther, would. _

"_That's funny is it?" he growled glaring at the brothers as the other three joined them on the ground. "I'll give you a 10 second head start."_

_Laughing abruptly stopped from Fred and George, knowing just how dangerous Harry could be they shared a look before sprinting away._

"_What your scared of Potter?" Charlie yelled after them, "Come on what could he possibly…What?" he said spinning to face Bill who had been tugging at his sleeve. Looking to Harry his mouth dropped open as Harry began transforming into his Animagus form. "UH OH, WE ARE SO DEAD." Was all he said before he and Bill started running at top speed toward the house._

_They had barely made it ten feet before the Black Panther had jumped them knocking the men into a huge puddle of mud. Growling and circling the edge of the mud puddle, it watched as they struggled to regain their footing. Neither dared try to step out of the puddle, knowing that as long as they remained in the mud Harry would most likely not go to them._

"_N-now come on Harry," Bill pleaded, "It was only a joke, besides this isn't fair. We didn't know you were an Animagus or we would have…" he desperately wanted to say 'left you alone' but Charlie interrupted._

"_Planned the attack better?"_

_Harry snarled and snapped at them, causing the men to shriek girlishly and fall on their butts in the mud once again._

_Loud laughter caught their attention and they turned to see the rest of the Weasley family watching the scene with intense amusement. Apparently Fred and George had fetched them knowing they would be in for a good show._

"_Aw…your not afraid of him are you," Ginny teased moving to the Panther and gently rubbing his head, "he wouldn't really hurt you, would you Harry." She cooed scratching the large feline behind his ears his purr sounding loud and clear. She laughed and drew her hand back taking this opportunity to whip out her camera and take a photo of her shell-shocked brothers._

_The family roared with laughter as Bill and Charlie turned red with embarrassment. Harry changed back into himself and joined the laughter hands on his knees as he struggled to keep upright._

Sirius roared with laughter as Harry smiled replaying the fond memory over in his head, before laughing along with the older Animagus.

"I wi-wish I could have seen their faces!" Sirius said.

Harry laughed again and the two continued to talk about pranks Sirius had pulled and even making up a couple to try when Harry got back to school.

Their conversation was interrupted a few minutes later by howls that sounded just outside the house.

Harry's head snapped towards the backdoor, "Jessica?" Sprinting to the door he yanked it open and stepped into the cool night air, Sirius hot on his heels. Sure enough a black Wolf sat just next to the bushes; ready to dodge behind them should anyone except Harry come out. Trotting over she growled softly.

Harry couldn't help but tease the wolf, "What is it girl, did Timmy fall down the well again?"

Transforming back she glared at Sirius and Harry, they stopped snickering the second they saw her serious face.

"What's wrong?"

"We have to go, there's an attack on the Ministry happening as we speak. Greg told me to come get you. He says 'its time to prove to the world that The Mystic Knights live once more.'"

* * *

Thanks again to all my reviewers and I'll do my best to get the next chapter up real soon. Cheers!


	23. Ministry Battle

_**Ok, Here's the next chapter, there is a little bit of death in this chapter so be warned. **_

_KPmagus: just wanted to answer your question .Garbe is just a Deatheater I made up, Crabbe and Goyle are still around. I just needed one of my own for the story._

* * *

Harry gaped at Jessica for a second, had he looked he would have noticed Sirius' face held a similar expression.

"What's going on?" a sleepy voice asked from behind them.

Harry turned to Ron, who had wondered into the backyard, still clad in his pajama's looking like he had just rolled out of bed. Which, Harry thought, he probably had.

"There's an attack at the Ministry. We have to get there right away. Sirius you round up the others and tell them what's happened. Jessica and I will head to the battle. Ron you should probably just go back into the house and wait to hear from someone." Harry commanded in short crisp tones as he transformed into his Mystic Knight costume. Sirius immediately went off to do as instructed but Ron remained rooted to his spot.

"WHAT?" Ron roared fuming. "IF YOU THINK I'M JUST GONNA SIT AROUND THE HOUSE WHILE YOU ALL GO OFF AND RISK YOUR LIVES, YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING." His face was beet red as he repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists trying to rein in his temper. "They're my family, and you are like a brother to me, please I have to help."

Harry sighed and shook his head lightly, but before he could refuse Ron's plea Jessica stepped up to him and whispered quietly in his ear. He nodded in response before shimmering away.

Ron shot Jessica a confused look, what had she told Harry?

"Do you really want to help?" she questioned, giving him one chance to back out. When the redhead nodded she held out her hand to him, "Then let's go."

Hesitatingly he grabbed her hand. In the blink of an eye he was standing in front of a dark forest. Taking a minute to get his bearings he looked around realizing that he wasn't at the Ministry like he believed he would be.

"Wait a minute, what am I doing back at Hogwarts?" he questioned looking nervously at the dark forest in front of him.

"You said you wanted to help, didn't you? I need you to go deep into the forbidden forest and find Moondance, Kiara, and Shire. Tell them we need their help at the Ministry of Magic and to bring the others with them." Jessica stated.

"Are you mad, remember your prediction a while ago; me, forbidden forest, running for my life any of this registering with you."

She gave him a cool stare and crossed her arms in annoyance, "Of course I remember I'm not stupid. You said you wanted to help, this is important. If you can't handle it, I'll take you back to the Burrow and waste time myself coming back here when I could be helping Harry and the others. Your choice."

"Alright, I'll go. Good luck." Ron whispered with a sigh.

"You too," she said gently squeezing his shoulder before shimmering away.

"Well Ron you can do this lets go." He said to himself hesitantly stepping into the ominous forest.

* * *

Jessica arrived to a scene of absolute chaos; the Ministry building was practically destroyed and fires sprouted from some places. Curses, jinxes, and hexes flew everywhere as the fight raged on. Already in her Mystic Knight apparel she threw up a shield and went to join in the battle.

Fighting her way through the crowd she reasoned there had to be at least a couple hundred Death Eaters, close to fifty Werewolves and a handful of vampires. The light side was really outnumbered, with only a hundred and fifty or so Wizards and Witches and Aurors. Jessica hoped that the two Mystic Knights on their side would somewhat even things out.

Although she realized that she and Harry weren't miracle workers they had a better chance of leveling things out and maybe bring the light side an unexpected advantage.

Before she could go any further a Death Eater appeared in front of her blocking her progress through the crowd. Executing a perfect round house kick she knocked the Death Eater to the ground, summoned some ropes and tied him tightly to one of the few still standing columns that once held up the Ministry of Magic building. Dusting her hands off she continued to pick her way through the crowd trying to get to the middle where she saw Harry and the others had congregated and were fighting off the oppressive number of foes with some difficulty.

Although she could have just Shimmered over there, she decided to take out a few of them on the way. Thin the herd a little, it might prove to be another advantage later. Stunning another Death Eater she continued on her path, to the center of the chaos.

* * *

"Oh this is bloody brilliant!" Ron yelled as he ran through the forest, branches scratching his face and arms, and tripping over tree roots trying desperately to outrun his pursuers. "Why did I ever agree to this?"

He knew he didn't stand a chance though, after all these were huge spiders that used the trees to leap great distances and ran a lot faster then him. And although he knew it was coming, and that it was liable to happen at any given moment, Ron was not looking forward to running into Aragog.

Stumbling into a clearing he fell to his knees in exhaustion, sighing sadly in defeat as the giant spiders surrounded the edge of the clearing in all directions, trapping him in the middle of their circle.

"Who goes there?"

Ron's head snapped up at the soft and dangerous voice. Breathing heavily he stood up and wiped the sweat from his face.

Sounding more confident then he felt Ron answered politely remembering that Harry had told him magical creatures responded better to that, "Ronald Weasley, Hogwarts student from the Gryffindor house."

Silence reined for a few minutes and Ron glanced around the clearing looking for the humongous spider that had spoken to him. He remembered that voice well, it could only be Aragog. On the other side of the clearing stood a huge tree with a hollowed out trunk, there was no doubt in his mind that that was where the spider was housed. His suspicions were confirmed when Aragog exited the tree and with amazing speed crossed the clearing to stand right in front of him.

"You have returned," he whispered, "Why?"

Standing tall and trying to hide his trembling hands Ron stared the creature in the eye, "I came back into the forest to search for the Fire Wolf known as Moondance. My journey was hindered when your…children ambushed me and led me here. If you would be so kind to allow me leave, I must find him, it is quite urgent." Ron didn't quite know where his sudden boldness or maturity had come from, but it gave him something he desperately needed at the moment; confidence.

Aragog chuckled ruefully, "You believe I will let you go? Tell me why I should, why I should deny my children the pleasure of a good meal."

"Because if you do not allow me to continue my journey, then hundreds of innocent people will be slaughtered tonight. You-know-who has attacked the Ministry of magic, and I was sent to find Moondance so that he may bring them help."

Aragog seemed to ponder this a second, "And what concern is it of mine whether or not your people die?"

Ron's confidence had slowly leaked away as his attempts had failed, but now his temper flared. "Because like it or not you and your family are part of this world too. If you think you are immune to you-know-who's insanity then you are sadly mistaken. The Phoenixes also believed that and most of them were slaughtered. You must choose a side. Fight with us in this war and you will likely survive. But… if you oppose us, you will die."

"Voldemort will destroy you all, are you sure you fight for the right side?" Aragog roared his many legs twitching in anger.

Ron glared at the monster, "At least I have chosen one. You can destroy me, but the light will never surrender to the dark, no matter how many of us die, we will go on, good _will _triumph over evil. I am not asking you to join the fight literally only to stay out of our way. If you do not most of you if not all will be killed. It is your choice, but make it now; I have precious little time to waste."

Aragog stilled, and then what can only be described as a very grotesque smile flittered across his face, "I like your spirit, you have our alliance until this war has ended. But anyone who enters our forest after is fair game, deal?"

Ron too stunned to think for a moment just nodded. He couldn't believe he had just done that, his legs threatened to give out on him, but he managed to regain his composure. "Deal, thank you. Have you any Idea where I might find Moondance?"

Aragog nodded curtly, "Indeed I believe I might, I shall take you to him myself. Follow me."

Ron nodded and jogged after the giant spider, happy to finally be able to complete his mission.

* * *

CLANG, Harry brought his sword up and blocked his opponents easily. Sidestepping the Death Eaters next attack he reared back and sliced the mans throat. Watching as the Death Eater dropped his sword and grabbed his bleeding neck Harry raised his sword and plunged it through the man's heart, ending his life quickly. Although he was willing to kill, Harry was not willing to let people suffer unnecessarily.

Sensing something was going to happen from behind he whipped around blocked the downward arc of another opponent's sword. At first it had surprised him at how easily the Death Eaters had handled their swords, but then he remembered that many years ago it had been a sign of power and superiority to be able to wield a sword, and purebloods usually carried them around back then along with their wands.

Seeing as how Death Eaters were comprised of purebloods Harry realized it wasn't as surprising as he first thought.

"You will die tonight, Knight." The Death Eater snarled expertly parrying Harry's attacks, "Who taught you to use that thing, an untrained Chimp?"

"No," Harry replied ducking under his sword and rolling a few feet away, "Sadly your boss was busy at the time, I had to make do with an expert."

Rage clouded the man's eyes, "You dare insult my Lord, you shall die, slowly and painfully for that."

In his anger the man swung too wildly allowing Harry to run his own sword through the man's stomach.

Anger always clouds your mind and causes you to make a mistake, which was what Harry had been counting on when he had purposely goaded the man. Pulling the sword out Harry shook his head and moved onto the next opponent.

* * *

Bill Weasley quickly ducked behind the large slab of wall to escape the many curses being thrown at him. Breathing heavily he was slightly startled when he saw that he was not alone and that two more people were also taking cover behind it.

"Bloody Hell," he whispered not quite believing what he was seeing, as he stared as the figure, clothed in white and gold with the metallic helmet, tended to the wound of his brother George.

Shaking off his stupor he crawled over vaguely noticing that a powerful shield kept the group of Dark wizards he had been fighting at a distance.

"George, mate, are you alright?" he asked favoring his own left arm that had been hit with a slashing curse.

George nodded lightly, "Yeah, she's just going to finish up then I'll get back out there and fight. What about you, what happened to your arm?"

"Slashing curse." Came the simple answer.

Jessica, who had finished George turned to Bill, "Let me have a look." Gently taking his arm she inspected it closely. "That's not too bad," Silently thanking Greg for teaching them this particular healing trick that all Mystic Knights used; she gently placed her hand over the cut and concentrated on healing it, and in second a white light surrounded both her hand and Bill's arm. Once it cleared Bill's arm was healed and not even a scar remained. "There all better,"

Bill's mouth hung open and George grinned having seen the same thing being done to him only minutes before.

"Pretty cool uh?" he asked still grinning as Bill tried to regain his composure.

"I- I've never heard of healing magic like that," Bill whispered staring in awe at the Mystic Knight.

Jessica laughed gently and shrugged, "You wouldn't have would you. That's a Mystic Knights own brand of magical healing, we're the only ones that can do it. It doesn't heal everything but it comes in useful for minor war wounds like you guy's had. Now are you boys ready to get back out there or do you want to rest a little longer?"

The brothers glanced at each other then turned back to the Jessica the determination in their eyes telling the Gryffindor all she needed to know. Nodded curtly and smiling lightly beneath her mask she helped them up before all three leaped over the concrete slab and joined the battle once more.

* * *

Sirius and Remus fought side by side stunning Death Eaters and dodging curses thrown at them.

Pausing to dash behind a pillar as more Death Eaters ganged up on them, the waited a few moments, knowing the men would not try to follow them.

"Do you think Harry's alright?" Sirius asked Remus worriedly having already explained to the man, with Harry's help, his godson's true identity, earlier on that night.

"Somehow I think he's just fine," Remus wheezed spotting the boy in question across the ruins holding his own against three Death Eaters. "Mystic Knights are trained for this kind of thing. He may only be fifteen but he's much more powerful then us. It's us you should be worried about, I bet it's been too long for you. I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't hold your own out there." Remus teased.

Sirius grinned wolfishly having heard the challenge in his best friends' voice. Nodding Sirius jumped back into the battle determined to prove his worth.

* * *

After an hour of battle, with many causalities on both sides the light side was pushed into the middle of the fray once again. With only around fifty good Wizards left standing, against the remaining hundred death eaters and a few werewolves and vampires, despair had settled upon most of the group.

Harry and Jessica were on opposite sides of the circle holding a powerful shield erect. The Death Eaters, Vampires and Werewolves try as they might, were not able to not break through it, but with each passing second Harry and Jessica were finding it more and more difficult to keep it up.

Dumbledore sighed sadly, "We should retreat," he said to Harry wearily running his hands over his eyes, "We have lost too many to death and injuries. We stand no chance."

"Retreat now and Voldemort has already won," the Mystic Knight pointed out. "Ron will be here soon with help; I have every faith in him."

"Ron? What does Ron have to do with any of this?" Mr. Weasley asked his voice tinged with confusion and worry.

Harry answered calmly feeling the shield weaken slightly once again, "He ran an errand for me, I expect he should arrive soon. George go check on my partner please, see how she's holding up." George nodded and dashed away, not bothering to ask how The Mystic Knight had known his name.

"How do you know Ron, I don't understand." Mr. Weasley said slightly aggravated and more then a little confused.

"Patience all will be explained later I promise, as soon as we finish up here." Harry said gently. Feeling the force field waver dangerously, he frowned slightly and pushed more energy into it.

George came back panting slightly, "She says she can't hold it much longer. She was wounded slightly a while ago, but she'll, quote 'try to hold on till the Calvary gets here' end quote."

Ten minutes later Harry sighed and addressed the group behind him, "Wands at the ready," he shouted, "The shield is about to collapse."

An eerie howl pierced the air just then, and everyone turned in the direction it had resounded from.

Harry's smile lit up his whole face behind his mask as he looked at the 'Calvary'.

Ron sat astride the large Fire wolf with his wand in hand, raising his wand above his head he smiled down at the small group of light wizards, before charging towards the battle an army of Centaurs, Unicorns, and Phoenixes trailing behind him.

* * *

Well there goes another chapter I hope you enjoyed it. I think its a little longer then some of the others too. So let me know what you think.


	24. Harry Revealed

Sorry if this is kinda short for some of you but it is what it is. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

With the arrival of Ron and his army the battle had shifted almost instantly towards the light and after only a mere ten minutes of fighting the Dark side retreated with only twenty death Eaters two vampires, and a Werewolf remaining.

The remaining light side cheered and congratulated each other focusing most of their relief and gratitude on the beaming (and slightly blushing) Ronald Weasley.

While Ron was being bombarded by a family of happy red heads Harry and Jessica thanked Moondance, the Unicorns, Centaurs and the Phoenixes for all their help.

'It was no trouble at all,' Argent the lead unicorn said bowing lightly, 'We have vowed our allegiance to you and will fight for the light whenever called upon. We only hope our role in this dark time will slightly influence the outcome into your favor.'

'Every bit of help, no matter how small, will aid us greatly in the war' Harry answered sincerely, absently stroking Shireton's blue plumage from where he rested on the young Gryffindor's arm.

'Moondance, can you open a portal that will lead our companions back to the Forbidden forest, please.' Jessica asked the large Wolf. She and Harry had discovered a few days earlier that Fire Wolves were able to teleport not only themselves, but others as well, by forming a portal of fire and walking through it.

'Of course,' Moondance answered bowing lightly to the uniformed Mystic Knight. Turning toward the largest open space he could find the Wolf drew in a deep breathe and released it shooting blue flames towards the space. A ring of blue fire formed and the space inside shimmered lightly showing the faint and shadowy outline of the Forbidden forest and farther in the background Hogwarts castle itself.

Thanking their new friends once more, Harry and Jessica waited until they had all disappeared through the tunnel before bidding Moondance a goodnight and turning back to Ron and the rest of the light side.

"Now, does someone want to explain to me what is going on around here? How do you two," Mr. Weasley pointed at the Mystic Knights, "know my son?"

Harry chuckled lightly and shook his masked head in amusement, "Why don't the Weasley's and Professor McGonagall meet my companion and I at the Weasley's home. We have a few things to discuss with Professor Dumbledore and a friend of ours and should be with you shortly."

The others, although bursting with questions, went off to do as told, recognizing the dismissal for what it was.

* * *

An anxious Arthur Weasley paced restlessly around the Weasley's quaint living room, while his children, wife and friends watched.

"Arthur, honestly would you please sit down." Molly snapped hotly crossing her arms over her chest and fixing the tall man with a glare that would have Voldemort running for the hills.

"I'm sorry dear," he sighed falling onto the couch next to an amused Sirius and Remus. "I just… I don't understand. How _do_ you know two of the most Powerful people in the world?" this he directed at, a still slightly smug, Ron.

"It's not my place to say anything, if they want to, that's their choice." Ron shrugged with a sheepish grin.

"Are you sure you're my brother?" Fred gaped at Ron, remembering that not two days ago, Ron would have told anyone who would listen exactly how this had come about, simply because he could.

"Amazing isn't it?" a voice from the other side of the room said, turning the group saw the two Mystic Knights leaned casually against the far wall. "It seems to me that Ron had finally decided to mature a little." The voice of the male teased from underneath his helmet.

Ron threw his friend a weak glare, a small smile gracing his lips, "shut it you," he griped weakly.

Ginny let out a Un-lady like snort and pushed Ron lightly laughing all the while. After a few moments the rest of the room joined in with laughter of their own, all throwing teasing comments of their own at the now blushing Gryffindor.

"Before I explain who I am, though it should be obvious seeing as there is only one person in this house that isn't here but should be… Did that make any sense?" Harry asked Jessica who smiled lightly under her mask and shook her head. "Anyway, I was hoping Ron could tell us what happened with his mission." Harry said lightly taking a seat next to Jessica who had plopped her self onto a comfortable leather couch she had conjured. Placing his arm on the back of the couch behind his friend he waited patiently for his schoolmate to begin his tale.

Ron went over his night with great detail, making sure to pause in the right moments, and patiently waiting for shocked gasps and whispers to subside before continuing. He even told the group about Jessica Locks premonition earlier in the year and how it had come true tonight.

"So… all in all a good night." Ron finished enjoying the gob smacked looks on his friends' faces, "Aragog and the light side have a sort of truce now. So they shouldn't be any problem during this war. There is no chance they'll side with you- know- who."

Harry was beyond impressed. He and Jessica had sent Ron to fetch Moondance and the others, and his best friend had come back with an army and a powerful alliance.

"Great job Ron," the Gryffindor praised, "I'm impressed."

Ron beamed and blushed at the same time.

"Well now that we know what happened in the forbidden forest, I think it's safe to say who I am, although I really am surprised you haven't guessed it yet. After all if any of you even thought to check on me, when you got back here there is no doubt in my mind you would have found me missing and put two and two together."

"Don't give them that much credit, Harry. They would have added two and two and came up with five." Jessica mumbled only loud enough for him to hear.

Gently nudging the girl with his elbow, Harry powered down and chuckled at the stunned silence that followed.

"Holy…" Fred began,

"Shit!" George finished.

Molly and Arthur were too stunned to even try and scold the twins for their language. Then as if the floodgates had opened pandemonium had broken out. Questions were being flung around the room and Harry's head was spinning with the sheer volume of noise being produced from his 'family'. McGonagall, always being more reserved then the others, was just content to study Harry intently until the noise died down.

Ginny, Ron, Sirius, and Remus howled with laughter at the reaction, and Harry shot them a mock glare as he tried to calm the others down.

"This… it's not…" Bill looked like he was having trouble finding the right question once the chaos had died down, so settled on the most obvious, "How?"

Harry smiled lightly and glanced at Jessica, who had by that time also powered down and was eyeing the group with something akin to amusement lighting her eyes. She caught his eye, gave him a gentle smile and shrugged.

"At the beginning of summer I was paid a visit by Greg Talon, our new Defense against the Dark arts teacher, and he kindly informed me that, once again, my hopes of having a normal year were futile. So I went with him where I met Jess, and we trained in the art of the Mystic Knight. Since we aren't seventeen yet we still have a little trouble doing all the things we should be able to do. Jess and I are still learning but Greg helped us, and is still helping us, become who we have to be In order to stop Voldemort." Pointedly ignoring the flinches that ran around the room he continued with a detailed description of the training they had gone through and what had happened so far this year.

"Any questions?" he asked when he had finished almost an hour later, smiling fondly at Jessica who had, at some point, fallen asleep on his shoulder.

Sirius, catching the smile, snickered and shot Harry an 'I told you so' look when his godson had looked at him.

"Plenty," Arthur said running a hand through his thinning hair.

Harry had been afraid of that and settled back into the soft leather of the couch shifting Jessica to a more comfortable position with her head resting on his thigh, Harry braced himself for a long night of questioning.

* * *

The rest of the Christmas holidays had flown by in a blur. The morning after the Ministry battle had been both pleasant and tragic. It was determined that about fifty light wizards had died that night and another twenty were injured grievously. The rest had sustained minor injuries and were able to spend that morning, being as it was Christmas, with their families.

Dumbledore had taken on the daunting task of informing the families who had lost someone in person and only briefly stopped by the Burrow to wish Harry and the others a happy Christmas.

Jessica had disappeared sometime when the others had fallen asleep, but Harry wasn't too worried. He just figured she had been a little embarrassed about falling asleep on him and had escaped back to her home.

Harry had gotten lots of great presents this year and had enjoyed the day and dinner that followed that night. Laughter filled the table as they all tried to push aside the feeling of imminent doom the war was beginning to settle over them. And at the start of the feast they had paid their respect to the fallen wizards that had died the night before with a toast and a vow to never forget the sacrifice they had made during this war.

And now Harry and the others were crossing onto platform nine and three quarters ready to head back to Hogwarts for the rest of the school year.

Watching with a smile as Arthur and Molly hugged and kissed their children goodbye, Harry failed to notice the shadow that crept up behind him.

"How was your Christmas?" a soft voice asked gently touching Harry's shoulder.

Harry heard someone whisper next to his ear and felt the hand on his shoulder. He spun around relaxing when he saw it was only Jessica. Exhaling noisily he grinned and shook off his paranoia.

"Good, considering. How about you? You disappeared awfully fast that morning."

She shrugged with a light grin, "I had things to do. But I had an ok Christmas too, my parents bought me nothing but clothes this year, how boring." She sighed dramatically trying to lighten the mood.

Laughing lightly Harry threw an arm around her shoulders and walked with her to the train.

"What about the present I gave you, that must have perked you up a little." Harry said referring to the box of pranks he had bought from Fred and George for her.

An evil smirk slipped onto Jessica's face, "It did indeed, I spent the remainder of the week pranking my parent's silly. That'll teach them, eh?"

Harry laughed and opened the door to their usual compartment only to find someone already there. Stopping in the doorway he stared at the figure in shock and confusion.

"What are _you_ doing here?" he asked.

* * *

Can anyone guess who Harry's talking about? Let me know what you think, reviews keep this story alive. Cheers!


	25. Draco's task

To all of you who knew it was Malfoy, Congratulations! And if I could I would give you all a cookie but since I cant I suppose you can just enjoy the update.

* * *

"I need to talk to you, Potter." Draco Malfoy announced trying to keep his usual authoritative tone out of his voice, thinking to himself it would do him no good to anger the other boy. "It's important," then sighing lightly he added lowly, "Please."

Harry too astounded to do much more then nod fell into the seat opposite the Slytherin. Glancing at Jessica he waited until she had left the compartment before giving the platinum blonde his full attention. "What's going on Malfoy?"

"M-my father has been informed that You-know-who is ready to let me join his ranks. B-but there is an initiation… Potter, I know you probably won't believe this, but I don't want to join you-know-who. I may dislike muggles and mud…er muggleborns but… well I couldn't kill them."

Harry was surprised but at the same time he wasn't. He had always thought Malfoy was all talk and no action, and his admission here just proved that. "So your barks worse then you bite eh?" Harry murmured unknowingly paraphrasing his fellow Mystic Knight, Jessica.

"What was that, Potter? I don't bark nor bite…" the confused Slytherin said looking at Harry strangely.

Shaking his head Harry chuckled, "Sorry I was channeling Jessica there for a second. I just meant your all talk and no action, you know? I don't mean to offend you, or anything," he added quickly when Malfoy's face reddened in annoyance; he and the boy were getting along, and didn't want to ruin that.

Malfoy sighed, "No your right…but if you ever tell anyone I admitted that I'll deny it."

Sitting in a companionable silence for a few minutes Harry reflected on the Slytherin. True he and Malfoy had had their differences but they would be easy enough to work around. And Harry knew that no matter how much he had disliked the boy over the years, he would help him just because he'd asked and was genuinely trying to get along with him.

"What are you supposed to do for the initiation?" Harry asked remembering why they were talking in the first place.

A flicker of anguish and (to Harry's surprise) fear flashed across the Slytherins face before it was quickly replaced by the mask of indifference he had mastered over the years.

"My father told me that you-know-who has discovered a spy in their midst. If I want to prove my allegiance to him…I have to kill the traitor…" he whispered dropping his head into his hands.

Harry stared into Malfoy's knowing exactly who the pale boy was talking about. Sighing gently he lowered his eyes and whispered the name of the most hated professor at Hogwarts, "Snape."

Malfoy's head shot up and he stared at Harry, although he knew he shouldn't be that shocked, after all this was Harry Potter, he was. "You knew?" he cried loosing his stoical calm for a moment.

Harry had to bite back a chuckle trying his best to keep a civilized conversation going. "Yah, I've known for years. I don't totally support Dumbledore's trust of Snape, but he does believe Snape's sincerely trying to make up for past mistakes…so there isn't any point in trying to convince him otherwise. So Voldemort," he continued ignoring the pale boys flinch, "wants you to kill Snape, but you don't want to. Why did you come to me, and not Dumbledore or Snape himself?"

Draco had asked himself that very question many times, and he still couldn't figure out why he had felt he could trust the Gryffindor.

"To be perfectly honest," he began, wincing as if the thought pained him greatly, "I don't know. I just have a…feeling that I can trust you. It's something I don't get when I think about talking to Dumbledore or Snape about my dilemma. It's like, even though I've been a great git to you for years, I know that you would be willing to help me. I also think that you're probably the only one that can. I'm not asking you to like me, I still have some problems with you myself, but despite how I acted I could never be like my father. I couldn't kill someone just because of who they are."

Harry was staring opened mouthed at Malfoy while he had rambled on, but now he shook off his stupor and smiled lightly.

"How much time to you have to…complete your task?" he questioned already beginning to think of possible solutions.

"I have a week left."

Harry nodded and continued to think, running through all possible scenarios quickly through his head. And suddenly it hit him, and a grin began to form on his lips. But before he could voice his plan, the compartment door burst open and a furious Ron came storming in followed closely by a confused and anxious Hermione, and annoyed Jessica.

"What the bloody hell is going on in here?" he yelled slamming the compartment door so hard the window panes rattled.

Throwing a glare at the furious red head Jessica shrugged at Harry apologetically, "Sorry guys, I held them off as long as I could without actually restraining them."

Harry sighed and gently rubbed his temples, "Don't worry about it." Then he turned to Hermione and Ron hoping they would understand, " Malfoy wanted to talk to me about something…" he glanced at Malfoy asking the boy silently if he could tell them, seeing the Slytherin was hesitant he said, "I trust them, and you can too."

Malfoy still a little hesitant thought about it and seeing that Harry was being totally sincere nodded albeit a little reluctantly.

Having permission Harry told his three friends the situation watching them trying to decipher what they were thinking. Hermione looked unsure if she could trust Malfoy. Jessica was nodding in understanding and looked as if she were already trying to come up with a solution. But Ron still looked angry.

He growled, "This could be some sort of trick. How do we know we can trust him?"

Harry had expected that, and looking at Malfoy once again Harry knew they could, "Do you trust me?"

Ron blinked in confusion, "Of course I do, why…?"

"Then trust me now. I can't explain it but I know we can. Malfoy needs our help, are you really willing to turn down anyone who needs help, even if it's someone you don't like?"

Sighing gently and looking back between Harry and Malfoy, Ron nodded. Even if he didn't like it, he would help.

"Excellent," Harry grinned watching as his three friends sat down, Ron and Hermione seating themselves next to him.

"I suppose you already have a plan, eh?" Jessica questioned plopping down next to a decidedly relieved looking Malfoy.

Harry's grin grew bigger, "Actually I do."

"Well, we don't have all day Potter. Spit it out!" Malfoy said when the answer wasn't forthcoming, he wasn't a patient person.

Harry's grin turned downright mischievous, "We're going to give Voldemort exactly what he wants." Enjoying the looks of complete dumbfounded ness on friends' faces he sat back in his seat and crossed his arms.

"What do you mean?" Hermione whispered not liking at all how this was sounding.

Smiling somewhat evilly Harry took a moment to look at each of them separately before responding, "We're going to kill Snape."

* * *

"I must be out of my mind to be going along with this." Hermione whimpered as she, Ron, Jessica and Harry waited by the large clearing in the forbidden forest for Malfoy and Snape to show up.

Ron grinned, "Are you kidding, I've wanted to kill Snape for years and now my chance has finally come."

Hermione eyed him warily, "You know we're not actually going to kill him, right?"

"Yah," Ron sighed his good mood dampening somewhat.

Harry grinned and shook his head at the red heads antics. It had been a week since he had explained his plan on the train. With Voldemort already believing that Snape is a spy for Dumbledore Harry had decided that the safest thing for their most hated professor was for Voldemort to believe he was dead.

But Harry also knew that Dumbledore would never go along with this plan he would argue that Snape should just try and convince Voldemort that he was a loyal follower. Harry knew that the old wizard would rather risk Snape's life then lose his only spy within Voldemorts midst's. So Harry and the others decided that they should be the only ones who knew.

Malfoy, however, had insisted that they tell Snape reiterating that the potions master had a right to know. Surprisingly enough Snape had taken it pretty well and agreed to go along with the charade.

"I don't think he's coming," Ron said frowning, "I knew we should never had trusted the bloody ferret."

"He'll be here," Harry insisted shifting from his crouched position behind a tree to face Ron. Or at least where he thought Ron was, seeing as how both he and Hermione were hidden behind his invisibility cloak. "I know he'll be…"

"Shhh," Jessica hissed suddenly, "They're here."

Shifting to stare into the clearing once again, Harry watched as Malfoy and Snape walked to the middle of the clearing, Snape glancing around as if searching for someone.

"What's going on, Mister Malfoy?" Snape asked coolly annoyance clear in his voice. "I thought you said…"

Malfoy chuckled, "I lied. Remember how I told you that you-know-who assigned me a certain task before I could join his ranks?" seeing Snape's nod and mistrusting glare Malfoy continued, "Well that job, is you. My lord wants me to kill you, and that's exactly what I plan on doing."

Snape stared at Malfoy before sneering, "You think you can kill me? I'll destroy you before you can even lift your wand." Quick as a flash Snape raised his wand and opened his mouth to attack.

"EXPELLIARMUS!" a voice roared from behind Snape and sent the professors wand flying to the other side of the clearing.

Spinning around Snape suddenly found he and Malfoy surrounded by Death Eaters. Growling he spun around to face his student the look on his face bordering on deranged.

"Couldn't face me yourself, uh? Had to call in help, you're pathetic…"

"No!" Malfoy roared back pulling his wand from his robes, "I could defeat you without their help. But you're a traitor, and you deserve to die like one! You deserve to die while they all watch. Can you picture it now Snape, the humiliation you'll feel as you fall at my hand? Then when you're dead you-know-who has requested that we hang your body outside whats left of the Ministry, a message to all who dare defy his power. You'll be mocked through history."

The circle of Death Eaters roared with laughter and threw jeering comments at Snape. Then one lone figure stepped forward.

"Get on your knees Severus," the man spoke, and Harry instantly recognized him as Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father. "Get on your knees and beg my son for mercy. Do it and he may make your death quick and painless, don't… well, I think we all know the alternative."

His sneer growing more prominent Snape crossed his arms and stated defiantly, "I will not, especially not to your son, Lucius. Do it, if you think you can, Draco. I for one don't think you have it in you, you're as yellowed bellied as your father."

Growling angrily the Slytherin raised his wand, "Then you don't know me as well as you think you do. AVADA KEDAVRA!"

* * *

Well there's another update please R&R. I'll try and update soon. Cheers!


	26. A new Death Eater

Ok here's the next chapter I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think. Cheers!

* * *

While Malfoy and Snape were putting their acting skills to test in the middle of a ring of Death Eaters, Harry and the others were preparing for their part of the plot.

Harry gently removed the lightly glowing orb from under his robes and held it out in front of him. Harry had been researching a couple of weeks ago and had discovered that if he and his friends added their combined power to the orb of Osiris in front of him, already glowing with the ancient power of Osiris himself, they could keep Snape alive. Although the combined powers wouldn't completely stop the deadly spell, it would deflect it just enough to render the man completely comatose for near a month. With a couple of well placed glamour's no one would notice the difference between a dead Snape or a comatose one. That was their plan and now it was time to put said plan into action.

Harry, Jessica, Ron and Hermione placed their right hand on the orb and whispered the incantation to transfer some of their power to it. Although Harry had had a few reservations about using the orb to help Snape, since the orb itself could be used one time only, he had talked with Jessica and they had both decided it was probably for the best. And now he was about to find out if all the hard work that was put into finding and obtaining the orb would pay off. It had taken Harry and Jessica the better part of the week to find the orb, but had eventually sequestered it from an ancient tome in Egypt, although it had taken a little time to work around the defenses guarding it, both muggle and magical.

The orb shined a silvery brilliance and the four Gryffindors held it between them waiting for the perfect moment to unleash its power with a well placed incantation that, they hoped, would save professor Snape's life.

As soon as they heard Draco yell the killing curse the four friends whispered the incantation and watched in awe as the silvery substance shot toward Snape, literally racing against the ominous green light that shot from Draco's wand at the same time, and hit him squarely in the chest moments before the unforgivable curse did. Harry knew that none of the Death Eaters, Snape or Draco could see the spell he and his friends had cast; only those who cast the spell themselves would be able to see it.

Time slowed as the large group watched Snape's face contort in shock as the killing curse struck him in the chest, the 'I dare you' sneer wiped from his face instantly.

Harry watched as Snape finally hit the ground and lay still, to him it felt like hours had gone by but in reality it had only been milliseconds, he only prayed that the legends were true and the orb had worked the way it was supposed to.

"How do we know if it worked?" Ron whispered swallowing back his panic, "How do we know that Snape isn't actually d-dead?"

"We just have to wait and see," Jessica answered solemnly, "As soon as the Ministry pulls him down from outside their office Dumbledore should bring him back here for a funeral. We'll dig him up a few days after that and take him down to the Chamber of Secrets. He'll stay there for the remainder of his 'sleep' and we'll figure out what to do with him then."

Harry nodded in agreement with what Jessica had said and threw his, slightly shaken, friends a small reassuring smile. Although Harry himself was a little worried he tried not to show it, he didn't want to concern his friends anymore then they already were. Quickly muttering several undetectable glamour charms and casting them towards Snape, Harry held his breath and watched the senior Malfoy walk proudly to his son.

"Excellent job, Draco." He clapped the slightly pale Slytherin on the shoulder and turned to address the group. "My son has proven himself worthy of serving our lord," he waited for the cheers and congratulations to stop before continuing, "and now let us take this traitors body to be hung outside the Ministry of Magic. The whole world will know the consequences of defying our Lord!"

The group cheered once more and several stepped forward to Snape's 'body' and apparated him away.

Once alone with his father Draco spoke up, "Did I pass Father, do I get to join you-know-who's ranks now?" That thought itself scared Draco, but he and Harry had talked about it and decided that it was in their best interest to have a spy considering that Snape was no longer an option. In exchange for helping him, Draco had decided that he would spy for Harry and report back to the Gryffindor when he returned from any meeting.

Nodding curtly Lucius clapped his son on the shoulder, "Indeed, now while the others tend to Snape what say I take you to pledge your allegiance to you-know-who."

Draco knew it was not a question but nodded, albeit reluctantly, anyway. Casting a surreptitious glance in the general direction of where he knew the four Gryffindor's were hiding he allowed his father to touch his shoulder and apparate him away.

The four friends stood and Ron took the cloak off Hermione and himself. Dusting themselves off the Gryffindor's took a moment to collect their thoughts before Harry took charge.

"Jessica your better then me at following apparating trails, lock on to Mr. Malfoy's apparating signature and follow them, just to keep an eye on things. Recon work only Jess, do not engage."

Watching his friend nod and disappear Harry sighed gently. He was under no false disillusions that defeating Voldemort would be easy. The dark wizard was extremely powerful and he and Jessica were not up to full power. Even if they had been, Harry knew Mystic Knights were not infallible and could be killed just like everyone else. The powerful fifteen year olds would need all the help they could get to win this war and take down the most powerful dark wizard known to man.

Glancing to his friends, who were talking quietly among themselves, Harry announced they should head back to the castle and wait. Sending a silent good luck to Draco and Jessica he turned and headed back to the castle.

* * *

Jessica grumbled angrily as she finally arrived at a graveyard at the far end of England. Malfoy had left quite an erratic trail on his way here, forcing Jessica to follow it through in case he changed abruptly at any point in time. The signature would have been next to impossible for any normal wizard to follow, but Jessica had managed easily enough.

Transforming into her Animagus form, Jessica moved silently through the shadows. Sniffing lightly the wolf instantly picked up Draco's scent and followed it through rows and rows of tombstones crouching behind an especially tall one when she found the Slytherin. The tombstone provided the cover she needed and gave her an unobstructed view of the Malfoy's. Remaining completely motionless she watched and listened as the two blonde males stood alone in the center of a circle of gravestones.

"We'll wait here till the others arrive from their task, then you-know-who will join us and welcome you into our defenses." Lucius told his son coldly. After a moment of silence he added, "I'm proud of you Draco, you showed great initiative and proved to me that you valued the chance you'd been given to join us Death Eaters."

Draco flinched slightly; he had waited his whole life to have his father proud of him. But now, Draco only wished that his father hadn't said anything at all. The Slytherin didn't want his fathers respect not after what had happened to make Draco turn against his father in the first place and go to Harry Potter for help. He had told Harry that he didn't want to hurt anyone that day on the train, that had been his reason for seeking help, and that was true. But that wasn't the only reason.

Draco had learned through a letter that his mother had been killed, she had died only for the reason that the woman had fought against Draco having anything to do with you-know-who's army. She had argued with his father adamantly, pleading with him not to allow such a thing to happen. When Lucius had dismissed her pleas she had said she would take her son away, away from England and away from him. Lucius became enraged and murdered her. Despite what many people thought about him, Draco was not incapable of love. He had loved his mother very much; she always took care of him, and stuck up for him or would take the punishment that had been meant for him. His mother had been the most important person in his life. Draco knew his mother only wanted what was best for him, she didn't want him fighting with his father or the others for fear he would die, or have to do something no fifteen year old should never do.

And now look where he was, right where she had fought so adamantly to keep him from. But now he was here for a reason, a purpose. Draco vowed to himself right then and there that he would avenge his mother, he would do her proud. So he waited. He stood next to the man he now hated with every inch of his being, and waited to become what he now despised most in the world. Draco held on to the hope that alongside Harry and the others, he would have a chance to get the revenge he so desperately craved.

Several cracking noises startled the young boy out of his thoughts as you-know-who's inner circle of Death Eaters returned to the graveyard forming a circle. Draco looked at them all wearily and began to grow restless with the silence, forcing himself to remain still, Draco thought of his mother and once again swore to avenge her.

"Well done, Draco." A soft deadly voice whispered, seemingly coming from everywhere.

Draco remained silent and watched a tall robed figure glide towards him, the Death Eaters parting to let the wizard through.

"You have completed your initiation task and I now welcome you into my army. But you would do well to remember one thing mister Malfoy, if you cross me your death will be much worse then you ever imagined. Now I believe is the time to say the oath."

The way Voldemort's eyes turned a deeper shade of red scared the Slytherin as did the cruel smile twisting the wizards' snake-like lips.

Drawing himself up to his full height Draco calmed himself and spoke, "I, Draco Malfoy, do hereby pledge myself to you Lord and vow to forever follow your guidance and instruction till the day I die." Swallowing nervously Draco gently raised the right sleeve of his robe exposing his forearm.

Taking the arm offered to him, Voldemort jabbed his wand and muttered a spell, smirking at the boy's gasp of pain he dropped the arm once the tattoo was fully formed.

"Welcome, young one. And since I have such faith in your father I have decided to allow you to stand next to him in my inner circle." His voice dropping to an angry hiss, "Do not disappoint me boy."

Draco bowed and murmured his thanks as the Death Eaters around him whispered to themselves in surprise. No one had expected Voldemort to allow the boy into their group.

"Get out of here, all of you." Voldemort hissed, "Except you, Draco."

The others departed without a word and without so much as a worried frown Draco's father apparated away as well.

"Yes, my Lord." The young blonde murmured, bowing again. Fear lanced through him at the thought of what the man could possibly want.

Studying the Slytherin for many moments, the dark wizard neither moved nor answered.

Shifting nervously Draco tried desperately to sooth his pounding heart, wishing more then anything that his mother had not died. The thought of his mother instantly calmed him, and a cold mask of anger and hate formed around his heart. He had to be strong for her, for what he had to do.

"I have a special task for you. I want you to discover the identity of the Mystic Knight that roams the halls at your school. Do whatever you have to do to accomplish this task. Can you do that Draco? Can you handle that?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"Excellent, then you may go. Oh and Draco? Welcome…CRUCIO!"

Jessica whined lightly and watched Draco scream in agony as the curse ripped through his body. It was all she could do not to dash out of her hiding place and attempt to rip Voldemort to pieces.

After what seemed like hours Voldemort let the curse drop away and apparated away leaving the young Slytherin withering in agony of the ground.

After checking to make sure they were indeed alone Jessica trotted toward the blonde boy, and sat next to him.

Draco was vaguely aware of a soft muzzle nuzzling his face and when he opened his eyes saw a wolf gazing at him in what could only be concern. Suddenly the wolf was no longer there and in its place was Jessica Lock. Pushing his agony aside, Draco allowed the girl to help him up. Draping an arm around the girls shoulders Draco fought to stay consious.

Murmuring words of comfort, Jessica shimmered Draco and herself back to Hogwarts and into the Slytherins fifth year boy's dormitory. Gently pulling back his cover the Gryffindor helped the boy into bed and conjured up two potions. After he had drank the pain reliving potion and dreamless sleep potion Jessica rubbed his head fondly and pulled the drapes around his bed closed.

Something about the boy reminded Jessica of herself and she couldn't help but be protective of him. Besides, even after all he's done to Harry and his friends, Jessica just couldn't bring herself to ignore the boy's pain, everyone deserved comfort when they needed it. Glancing once more at the boys bed, Jessica shimmered back to her own room to sleep away the rest of the night.

* * *

Thanks for reading. Cheers!


	27. Snape unmasked

Alright here's the next chapter. Please let me know what you think. Cheers!

* * *

Hogwarts castle was silent as the students slowly made their way to the Quidditch pitch where a temporary podium had been set up for a funeral.

A solemn Dumbledore stood in front of the school and waited for the last students to take their seats.

Snow drifted about the pitch gently swirling; covering the pitch, the crowd and the ivory colored coffin that the stage held, in a powdery soft white blanket.

Once the last student was settled Dumbledore took a deep breath and began the ceremony. "Two days ago the body of Professor Severus Snape was discovered in the ruins of the Ministry of Magic. Not much is known about his death, but one thing is for certain; Professor Snape was murdered. I am not naïve, I realize not many people liked Professor Snape," ignoring the students whispering he continued, "and I know that he didn't exactly try to make it easier to get along with him. But Professor Snape was a good man, he will be dearly missed. Let have take a moment to remember him by."

The students and teachers remained silent, most thinking about the first time they had met Snape. He had been rude, cruel, angry, bitter and resentful to all of them. Most could not understand why Dumbledore had such faith and trust in the man.

Only a handful of teachers, four Gryffindors and a Slytherin did. They all knew that although Snape had been all of those things he was also a wizard fighting for the light side, for what he believed in.

And although Harry would never admit it out loud, he respected Snape and what the man was doing. Snape put his life on the line every time he answered Voldemorts call, and to Harry that earned his respect. Harry also knew that Hermione and Jessica respected him as well. And although Ron was keen to call the potions master a 'great greasy git' at every occasion possible, Harry suspected that the bad tempered redhead held some sort of admiration for their Professor.

But now Snape no longer needed to worry about Voldemorts meetings, punishments or abuse. As far as the world was concerned, Professor Severus Snape was dead, and it would remain that way until the final battle; which Snape had been adamant about fighting in.

Seeing as how Snape would be completely comatose for more then a month, Harry had discussed it with the others and they felt the only safe place to keep the Professor while he was recovering was the Chamber of Secrets. They would each take turns sitting with Snape after classes and Harry had later arranged for Dobby to look in on the professor when they couldn't. Dobby had been ecstatic to do this for Harry and when he explained to Dobby that no one could know about his visits or that professor Snape was alive. Dobby had promised to keep the secret.

As Harry half listened to Dumbledore's eulogy as he couldn't help but glance across the pitch to the Slytherin seating area; his eyes resting on one particular student, Draco Malfoy.

When Jessica had told Harry about the Death Eater meeting, the Gryffindor had immediately sought Draco out. Once he had him alone Harry told the pale boy that they could get him out of Voldemorts clutches.

What Draco had said both shocked and awed Harry.

_(Flashback)_

_As they were leaving Defense against the Dark Arts Harry quickly caught up with Draco. Grabbing Draco's elbow Harry quickly led the boy into a deserted classroom, and threw up a silencing charm._

"_You don't have to do this, Draco." _

_Draco raised an eyebrow at the use of his first name then threw Harry a confused look, "What are you going on about, Potter?"_

_Sighing and rubbing a hand across his eyes, the raven haired boy explained, "We can get you out. You don't have to spy for us. You could get hurt… or killed. It's not worth it, just let us help you find a way to escape Voldemort."_

_Flinching slightly at the mention of the dark lord's name Draco dropped into a chair deep in thought._

"_Why are you suddenly calling me by my given name?"_

_The sudden change in topics shocked Harry and he had to take a moment to collect himself, "I respect you," came the sincere answer._

"_Why, I've done nothing to deserve your respect. You shouldn't respect me! I don't even respect myself! All my life I've been known as a bully, people feared me. I admit I didn't exactly try very hard to correct them. It was safer that way, with my father being who he was. I had to act like a Death Eaters son would act. I bullied and hurt people because I was too **weak **to stand up to my father andfight for what** I** thought was right." Taking a deep breath Draco continued his voice softer, almost impossible to hear, "I need to do this, Potter, because it's what **I **believe in. If undergoing unbearable torture everyday is the way to do it, then so be it. I'll take anything he can throw at me. I think its high time I earned the respect you so willing gave to me, then maybe in time, I'll learn to respect myself again."_

_Harry sat in stunned silence, almost unable to comprehend the speech he had just heard. Was this really the same boy he had gone to school with for five years? The sincerity and determination in Draco's voice spoke to Harry more then his words had. Draco would do anything to help in this war and he wanted to fight for the light side. And although Harry couldn't help but think there was something other then just the Slytherins belief guiding the boy's choice, he smiled grimly and decided to let the boy have his chance at redemption._

"_Alright, so tell me what Voldemort wants you to do?"_

(End Flashback)

Once Draco had told Harry about his assigned mission of finding and unveiling the Mystic Knight housed at Hogwarts, the two boys had discussed what the Slytherin should do.

Although Harry believed that Draco was on the light side he couldn't bring himself to reveal Jessica and himself. After all five years of mistrust still had Harry doubting the boy, and until he proved himself worthy, Harry would always hold certain things back from the Slytherin.

Finally it was decided Draco would indeed attend the Death Eater meetings and let Voldemort now bits and pieces of information about Mystic Knight sightings around the castle. Hopefully if Voldemort thought Draco was making progress with his task, the dark wizard would be less inclined to punish him.

Harry pulled back from his thoughts with a slight shake of his head, turning his eyes back to the stage he let his attention rest on the Headmaster.

"If anyone would like to walk by the coffin and pay their last respects, do so now. If not please help yourself to refreshments and tea whilst Hagrid and I make the final preparations for the burial."

Harry couldn't help but wince slightly at the miniscule number of people that actually went up to say goodbye to the man. Out of the hundreds that had attended the funeral only a dozen or so had.

Standing up, Harry weaved between the numerous rows of chairs, slowly making his way up to the stage and ultimately the casket.

Ignoring the whispers of shock emanating from the crowd, he stood in front of the coffin staring down into the Professors paler then normal face. Breathing a sigh of relief that the strong glamour charms were still in place he took a moment to study the man before him.

Snape had been dressed in black robes made of silk and as he lay there, Harry couldn't believe how peaceful he looked. Staring at the Professor for a few moments, Harry sighed gently then quickly paid his respects when he felt an unfamiliar presence at his side.

Nodding in acknowledgement and sympathy at the unknown wizard, Harry took once last look at Snape then retreated from the stage and over to his friends.

"Deserves him right, it did,what with being a Death Eater and all." Dean Thomas was saying to the others as he helped himself to cauldron cakes and a bottle of Butterbeer.

"Nobody deserves to be killed," Ginny protested angrily glaring at the fifth year, "Not even Snape."

"I agree with Dean, Snape was just a great big git, he had it coming." Seamus, Dean's best friend said.

"I'm surprised he wasn't killed before now," Parvati Patil agreed a slight smirk resting on her face.

"A man is dead," Harry snarled feeling the anger start to boil inside of him, "Try to remember that. Professor Snape my not have been very nice at times, but he was a good teacher and an even better man, none of you will ever know what he's risked for all of you."

Silently seething Harry turned away from the group of students and walked away before he gave to much away. What angered Harry the most was that no one would know about what Snape had been doing for the light side. They would always see him as nothing but a Death Eater, someone who deserved to die. Shaking his head at the injustice of it all Harry plopped into a seat and dropped his head into his hands.

"You ok?"

Harry tilted his head toward the soft voice of his partner.

Smiling gently at Jessica as she took a seat next to him, he nodded in the affirmative.

Silence reigned between the friends and Harry turned his head to stare at the ground once more.

"It's too bad no one will really know what Snape had been doing for the light side," Jessica said, having heard Harry's impassioned speech to his fellow Gryffindors. Glancing at Harry out of the corner of her eye she continued, "Because we both know Dumbledore would never allow that, even in 'death' he believes no one should know about Snape's double agent status." Seeing Harry's expression sour even more then it had been she continued, "But, if it all somehow got out…"

Blinking in surprise, Harry spun around to face her completely, shock evident in his eyes.

"You can't be serious," he sputtered. "Dumbledore would be furious… not to mention Snape when he wakes up! I could never…"

Jessica chuckled gently, "Why not. Snape deserves to be recognized for what he did. People should know why he died. Besides what have I told you, do what's right, not what other people want you to do, or expect you to do. It's your choice Harry; I'll leave it up to you. Besides no one will ever know you had anything to do with it."

Gently patting his arm, she moved to leave and wasn't too surprised when Harry grabbed her hand and pulled her back down into her chair.

"What do you have in mind?" he asked smiling warily.

"Harry my boy, I have two words for you; Rita Skeeter."

* * *

Later that very night Harry and Jessica found themselves waiting for the Daily Prophet reporter in the Leaky Cauldron, nursing Butterbeers. Both the Gryffindors were wearing dark cloaks and hoods to conceal their identity.

After the funeral had ended and Snape had been buried the guests had retired to the Great Hall then ultimately their houses or dorm rooms for the night.

Harry, Hermione, Ron and Jessica had met up with Draco at Snape's burial site and together the four had dug Snape back up and removed his body from the coffin. Jessica had suggested that in case someone dug up the body for whatever reason, they should at least leave one in there.

So they replaced Snape's body with that of one they had taken from a muggle morgue, and placed strong and very difficult to conjure glamour's on the John Doe.

Rom and Hermione had not thought such powerful glamour's possible at first but Harry had told them it was a Mystic Knight thing and they didn't doubt it anymore when they saw the transformation.

After, Harry had sent the others to bed and he and Jessica shimmered Snape down into the Chamber of Secrets. Dobby, at Harry's request, had set up a bed with many blankets and had stolen some small personal things of Snapes to sit on a table, in order to make the Professor feel more at home.

And now here they were, waiting for a witch Harry disliked almost as much as Lucius Malfoy.

"Hello, Mr. Potter." A soft whisper brought Harry back to the present and he watched the reporter take a seat across from him.

"Ms. Skeeter," Harry acknowledged somewhat coldly, "I'm sorry to bother you at such a late time, but I'm glad you could make it."

She flashed him a fake smile and stated, "I must admit I was surprised, I didn't think I would ever hear from you again." Glancing briefly at the second cloaked figure, she raised an eyebrow and questioned, "Now what is it that I can do for you?"

"I have decided to give you a chance to get back in my good graces." Seeing he had her attention he grinned beneath his mask and leaned forward. "I have a story that I want you to print. But there are rules. 1) You must print the story _exactly_ the way I tell you, no making things up as you go along; I want nothing but the truth. 2) I want no one to know that I had anything to do with this, my name can not be mentioned."

"A good reporter never reveals her sources," Rita cut in indignantly.

Harry nodded, "Your right, I'm sorry to offend you. And lastly I want every wizard and witch in England to get a copy. I'll pay for them if need be. Do you agree to these terms?"

Rita didn't even hesitate before she nodded eagerly, "That sounds like a good deal Harry, what's the story?"

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, the Great Hall was a buzz as students of all ages, houses, and genders discussed the article about their former teacher.

"Harry, have you seen the news!" Hermione cried brandishing the Daily Prophet as Harry stumbled to his place at the table.

"No," he answered suppressing a yawn, "why? What's going on?"

"It got out somehow, the truth about Snape, I mean. He's being regarded as a hero." Ron answered shoving the paper at Harry.

Glancing at the headline, Harry could hardly suppress his excitement.

**SEVERUS SNAPE UNMASKED!**

**By Rita Skeeter**

_**The recent murder of suspected Death Eater, Professor Severus Snape, has shocked everyone. But this reporter has discovered something far more shocking. Professor Snape was a spy in you-know-who's midst.**_

_**I have learned, from reliable sources, that Professor Snape was killed by Death Eaters because you-know-who found out that the potions master had been spying on him and reporting to a warrior for the light; Albus Dumbledore…**_

The article went on to discuss the many things Snape had endured, and done for the light, and Harry couldn't have been happier about the ways things had turned out. He knew at that very moment people all around England would be finding out the truth about the potions master and although it wouldn't change everyone's outlook about the man, he knew at least some would think about him in a new light.

* * *

Well, was it good?


	28. Hogsmeade

Alright, I know it's been awhile and I just wanted to thank those of you still reading this fic for hanging on. I'm already halfway through the next chapter so it should be out soon. Please let me know what you think. Cheers!

* * *

Draco Malfoy groaned gently as he eased into a chair across from Harry and Jessica in the Three broomsticks, a pub in Hogsmeade. Noticing their concerned looks he managed to give them a wary smile trying to put the Gryffindors at ease.

"How was the meeting last night?" Jessica questioned gently smiling kindly at the waitress that placed their Butterbeers in front of them before scuttling off to another table.

"Painful," Draco admitted wincing gently as he shifted in his seat. "You-know-who is pretty upset. I'm not really sure what's going on but something big is coming up and he's pissed because you haven't been 'taken care of' yet. Not to mention the fact that I haven't been successful in flushing out the Mystic Knight yet. He's been throwing around curses left and right at every meeting."

Harry sighed gently, "Maybe it would be best if we got you out." Over the last few weeks Harry and Jessica had found that Draco was actually a nice person when he was allowed to be himself. They had both found themselves thinking about the Slytherin as their friend and it pained Harry to think about the torture Draco went through every time he was called by Voldemort.

Draco looked at the concerned Gryffindors before shaking his head lightly. After spending the last few weeks meeting with them in Hogsmeade after every meeting he had found that he actually liked them and even had some things in common with the pair. Draco would even go as far as calling them his friends.

"No, I can handle it." Holding up his hand to forestall the interruption he could see was about to come from Harry he continued, "Something big is going on here Pot…er, Harry," he quickly corrected remembering Harry's constant reminders that he was allowed to use his first name. "Something big and most certainly bad. You know as well as I do we need to know what in order to stop what ever is going on." Draco didn't know why, but he knew Harry was pivotal in this war, he also knew the Gryffindor wasn't telling him something. But Draco knew Harry would eventually tell him, so he would wait patiently until the boy deemed in time.

"But to find out what, I need to stick around and prove myself trust worthy. If I leave now we'll never know. I've been going to meetings for weeks with rumors and stories about the Mystic Knight roaming the castle halls, but until I get something concrete, it's likely he'll never tell me anything." Draco finished apologetically.

"I know that but..." Harry began before he was interrupted by Jessica gently touching his arm and nodding her head towards the door, indicating she wanted a word alone with him.

Once the pair had found a quiet spot in a dark alley around the corner from the pub, Harry leaned against the cold wall and raised an eyebrow in question.

"I don't like this anymore then you do, but Draco's right, we can't pull him out. He's the only person we got on the inside, now that Snape's, er…indisposed." She whispered the last part refering to the fact that Snape was currently still comatose in the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry sighed gently. He knew they were right; but Harry didn't like the idea that the Slytherin could be killed.

"So what do we do?" Harry whispered resignedly.

"Unfortunately the only thing we can do is what we are doing. Short of turning ourselves in… I don't think there is much else." Jessica said softly moving to stand in front of Harry gently touching his hand.

Feeling his heart jump into his throat at the simple touch, Harry had to clear it before he was able to say anything.

"Maybe we're trying to get the information from the wrong person. Maybe it would be easier for Draco to get the information from his father." Harry whispered trying desperately to control his disappointment when Jessica nodded and moved away.

"Ya, maybe, we'll ask him. But we should be heading back to school soon; we have to be up early. Tomorrow morning we're coming back to Hogsmeade for the Valentine's Day trip."

Harry nodded and the two headed back into the Three Broomsticks.

* * *

"Bloody hell, Harry. Hurry up!" Ron snapped in annoyance watching Harry running around the dorm room as he tried to get dressed.

"Sorry Ron, I guess I over slept." Harry apologized yanking on his jeans and snatching his shoes from under his bed.

"Again," Ron said pointedly, "What were you doing last night? You didn't get to bed till like three this morning."

Pulling on his shoes and socks Harry glanced up briefly making sure they were alone in the room before answering. "Jessica and I went to meet Draco in Hogsmeade. Nothing new to report I'm afraid. Voldemort's upset and taking it out on his followers."

"Is Malfoy ok?" Ron questioned.

"Draco is fine," Harry answered rolling his eyes at Ron's stubbornness. He knew Ron was trying to be civil when it came to the Slytherin but an underlined tone of malice still leaked into the red heads voice when he spoke about him.

"Good," Ron said not really sounding like he cared much, "Now come on, the girls are probably waiting downstairs for us. I want to go to Honeydukes and stock up on candy."

Harry chuckled and quickly followed Ron down the stairs and to the common room.

Hermione, Ginny and Jessica were sitting on a couch next to the fireplace and were chatting amicably about their last Defense against the Dark Arts classes.

"Professor Talon has decided to spend the next few classes dueling against everyone individually. He said anyone who could beat him would earn fifty points for their respective houses." Hermione was telling Ginny.

Ginny's eyes sparkled with mischief, "Has anyone been able to beat him, after all considering what he used to be that seems a little unfair. Only Harry and Jessica stand a chance against him."

"Greg would never use his true powers like that. He'd tone them down to a level the other teachers would have. He would try to make it as fair as possible." Jessica pointed out indignantly.

"I didn't mean to imply that he would," Ginny said trying to placate the other girl, "I was just joking…"

Jessica sighed and waved off the apology, "I know, sorry, I guess I'm just a little tense, you know with everything going on."

Ginny nodded understandingly, "It's alright," she paused briefly before smiling wickedly, "Soooo… _has_ anybody beaten him?"

Harry chuckled from behind the trio and nodded when they turned to face him, "Actually, two or three people have. Cho Chang being one of them, along with Blaise Zabani and I think there was one more person but I can't remember who."

"Wow," Ginny breathed.

"Ya." Harry agreed with a small grin, "Come on, let's go before the others leave for Hogsmeade without us."

* * *

"Your son has failed me Lucius," Voldemort hissed glaring at the nervous Death Eater in font of him. "I have not heard anything about the Mystic Knight except rumors and speculation, I need more."

"I know my Lord, but Draco is trying his hardest to please you, if you'd only give him a little more time…" Lucius began before cutting off as he screamed in pain when Voldemort cursed him.

"How dare you question me!" the snake like man roared angrily lifting the curse after a minute.

"I'm sorry my L-lord, I'll talk to him when he goes to Hogsmeade today." Lucius stuttered cowering slightly. The fear vanished from his face to be replaced with confusion and suspicion when Lucius saw his boss calm down and a decidedly evil smile cross his face.

"Hogsmeade?" the man questioned his follower.

"Y-yes Sir, Draco and the third through seventh year children take trips to Hogsmeade every once in a while…"

"But you say they'll be there today." The dark lord whispered turning away from his follower and leaning back in his chair in silent contemplation.

"Um… yes."

Silence reined in the office of the Riddle house for nearly ten minutes. Lucius shifted uncomfortably knowing better then too interrupt his master when he was so deep in thought.

Suddenly Voldemort swung back around to face Lucius and smirked slightly when he noticed Lucius looking more nervous then usual.

"My dear Lucius," he hissed the smirk more prominent on his face, "gather all Death Eaters, and inform them we'll be leaving for Hogsmeade within the hour. I've come to the conclusion that the only way to draw out the Knight is too create a situation he can't possibly ignore."

Lucius nodded catching on to what his master was saying pretty quickly. "I'll get right on that my Lord."

"Good," Voldemort responded, "Oh, and Lucius," he added stopping the man in the doorway, "Do. Not. Fail. Me."

Swallowing deeply the platinum haired man nodded and quickly left the room, praying to anyone listening, that things would go the way he needed. If not, Lucius was sure he wouldn't live to see the next day.

* * *

Shifting uncomfortably Harry shot a nervous glance at Jessica as they walked along the main street of Hogsmeade together.

Hermione had dragged Ron off to a bookstore and Ginny had met up with some friend's only moments before leaving the two Mystic Knights to spend the rest of the day together.

It wasn't that Harry didn't like Jessica, quite the contrary actually. Ever since Christmas Harry was forced to admit his true feelings for the girl. He realized that Sirius had been right, he did have a crush on his fellow Mystic Knight. But Harry adamantly believed that Jessica didn't see him like that; and in order to work together he would have to get over his crush fast.

Since admitting it to himself Harry had tried to ignore his feelings and when that didn't work he had tried to spend as little time with the girl as he could. Unfortunately that hadn't worked either. Given the fact they were partners and had to work together Harry just wasn't able to keep away. And if he was to be completely honest with himself; Harry would have realized he didn't _really_ want too. Sighing heavily Harry realized his crush on the girl was not just going to go away.

Jessica sighed gently and shot a discreet look towards her quiet friend. He had been acting strangely for many weeks now and she was beginning to worry about him. She knew her feelings for the blue haired boy went beyond friendship and his odd behavior had really begun to worry her. For weeks Jessica had refrained from asking Harry what was wrong, figuring he would tell her when he was ready. Hearing her friend sigh heavily next to her she decided enough was enough. Grabbing her startled friends arm she dragged him off the street and into a side alley.

"Jess, what are you doing?" Harry asked when she had let go of his arm and just stood there watching him intently. Unable to keep eye contact he wrung his hands in front of him and glanced around the alley nervously.

"Harry, what's going on? You've been acting weird for weeks. At first I was content to leave you alone because I figured you would eventually talk to me…" sighing she ran a hand through her hair, unintentionally messing up her spikes. "You were quiet for a while, and then you just tried to avoid me…" looking at Harry she whispered, "Are you mad at me for something?"

Harry hadn't expected to be called out on his behavior and had no idea what to say when Jessica had continued her little speech but when she had questioned if it had been something she had done Harry's voice was returned and he immediately tried to assure her it wasn't.

"No, Jess, it isn't you I swear. It's just…something's been on my mind lately and I don't know how to deal with it."

Tilting her head in contemplation and hearing the sincerity in his voice she smiled gently and touched his arm, "It might help if you talk about it."

Sighing nervously Harry considered what to do. He could make something up. Or maybe just refuse to say anything telling her it was too personal to talk about. Or he could tell her the truth, get everything out in the open and see what she had to say.

It almost amused Harry that he could face giant Basilisks, Dementors and Voldemort numerous times but when it came to telling a girl he liked her he would rather be fighting all of those things at the same time. Harry had never been a coward but right now the fear of rejection had him wanting to run for the hills.

Steeling himself he decided to tell her the truth.

"All right its like this…"before he could continue however he was interrupted when a high pitched scream ripped through the air startling both the teens, only to be followed seconds later by more screams coming from the direction of the main street.

Shooting Jessica a wide eyed look they quickly ran toward the corner and peered around into the street.

"Oh god," Harry whispered staring in horror at the scene before him. About twenty Death Eaters were strolling casually down the street. Smoke billowed from stores that they had set afire and Hogwarts students were running for their lives. To Harry's despair he already saw several students lying still on the ground. He only hoped they were unconscious not dead.

Feeling the anger begin to boil inside himself he and Jessica shot each other a determined look. Nodding once they powered up into their Mystic Knight Costumes and stepped out to block the Death Eaters advance.

* * *

I know how much I like cliffhangers, and now you do too, LOL. Cheers!


	29. Rescue

Alright here's another one. Sorry, it's shorter. I'm gonna try and update every two weeks. So enjoy and let me know what you think. Oh, and one reviewer pointed out the fact that it only took the Mystic Knights a day to become an Animagus, they think that's unrealistic. I would just like to point out that this is a fan fiction it's not really supposed to be realistic. But thanks for the review!

* * *

"Hello boys," Harry said his voice disguised by his metallic mask. "Was there anything particular you needed here, or…?" Standing tall he and Jessica stood back to back as the Death Eaters surrounded them in a circle.

"Actually," the smooth deadly voice of Lucius Malfoy snarled from beneath his mask as he stepped forward, "you were exactly what we came for. My Lord sure will be pleased to know that not only did we manage to capture one Knight, but we got two."

"You expect us to go with you willingly?" Jessica snapped, "You guys are more delusional then I thought."

"You will come with us, or they die." Malfoy snarled pointing to something on the outside of the circle.

Not willing to turn his back on the Death Eaters in front of him he asked Jessica what the man had been pointing at.

"There's more of _them_," she whispered back, and Harry knew by the tone of her voice who _they_ were. "They were able to round up nine or ten kids, and they have their wands out. Typical bad guy routine, they threaten to kill the hostages if we don't cooperate. God, it's always the same thing. Once, just once, I wish they would try something different"

Harry snorted back a laugh at his partners indignation, before forcing himself to become focused again, "What do you think?" he whispered softly wanting to know her thoughts about the situation they were in.

"There's only five with the hostages, I should be able to take them out, while you handle these guys. Once the five are down for the count I'll back you up." She responded her voice barely loud enough for Harry to hear.

"Someone could get hurt." He pointed out quietly as he continued to stare at Lucius, who seemed to be growing impatient.

"These are Death Eaters, even if we to go with them they'll probably kill everyone here anyways. We can only hope for the best, and pray that backup comes soon." Jessica answered solemnly.

"I-I just don't like these odds…"his voiced trailed off as he was interrupted.

"Stop whispering," Lucius snarled taking a step closer to Harry and Jessica, "Make your choice. Come peacefully and your little friends live. But if you cause problems, everyone in this town dies…and it will be all your fault."

Harry could practically picture Jessica rolling her eyes at the ultimatum. He could barely stop himself from doing the same thing, 'could that be anymore cliché.' He thought to himself.

"Twenty-five against two that hardly seems like a fair fight." A new voice joined the conversation.

Harry grinned as he saw Professor Dumbledore and the other Hogwarts teachers form a line behind the five Death Eaters holding the group of children hostage. Their wands raised and their eyes shining with determination told Harry that his teachers were ready for battle.

"Dumbledore," Lucius hissed angrily, shoving passed Harry and Jessica he broke the circle and stood tall in front of the teachers.

Harry tuned out the wizards conversation and glance around at the Death Eaters that had reformed their tight circle around the two Knights.

"We could use this to our advantage," he whispered to Jessica. "You know that force field we used at the ministry a while ago? I want you to use it to protect the children, when the Death Eaters are drawn away, take the kids back to the castle. When I say go you move to protect the kids and I'll start the battle with these guys. If all goes to plan Dumbledore and the others should move into action the second they see you move."

"But… Harry that force field is beyond my power level alone. We're not up to that power yet and won't be till we're seventeen. The only reason we were able to do it before was because it was both of us. Not to mention we were only able to hold it for a short while!" Jessica protested urgently.

"Jess, listen to me. I know you can do it, ok? Just trust yourself." Harry pleaded quietly, glancing at Dumbledore and Lucius who were still in the midst of a heated word battle.

"Ok, ok I'll try. I _can_ do this." Jessica stated her self confidence going up a notch or two.

Harry nodded once, then began a quiet count down, "Three,"

He felt Jessica tense.

"Two,"

He felt her shift forward ever so slightly.

"One!"

Jessica sprang forward landing right in front of a startled Death Eater. Gripping the stunned mans shoulders she leap frogged over him and into the middle of the group of scared Hogwarts students. Without a seconds hesitation she threw her hands into the air and shouted the incantation "**munimentum!"**

For one terrible instant Jessica feared nothing would happen, but suddenly a blue bubble appeared around her and the others, effectively stopping a curse thrown by one of the five that had held them hostage.

Smiling triumphantly she saw Professor Dumbledore and the other teachers immediately spring into action drawing the Death Eaters attention away from the group.

"Wow, you are real!" one of the students said staring in awe at the Mystic Knight before them, "and you saved our lives! I can't wait to till I can tell all my friends that a real Mystic Knight saved my life!"

Jessica chuckled deeply and shook her head lightly, "save the praise for later kid, right now we need to get you guys back to the castle."

"You're a girl?" another boy cried in shock, while the others all made similar noises of disbelief.

Sighing gently Jessica turned her attention back to Harry and the others, seeing they had successfully drawn the attention away from her and the students she prepared to drop the shield that she had been straining to keep in place.

"Alright look, if you guys want to make it back to the castle in one piece I'm gonna need you to do what I tell you, when I tell you, no questions asked. Can you guys do that for me?" Jessica questioned beads of perspiration forming on her forehead as she struggled to keep the powerful shield from dropping.

"Absolutely," the eldest of the bunch, who Jessica recognized as a fifth year Hufflepuff named Jackson, stated firmly, "right guys?"

"Good," Jessica said when the other kids had also agreed. "Alright I'm gonna drop this shield then I want you to follow me. Stay as low as you can and be very quiet, got it?" grinning behind her mask as the other students all agreed, sounding excited at being able to do what their hero wanted of them, she spared a quick glance at the battle going on ten feet away from them and quickly dropped the shield.

"Come on," she whispered. Crouching low to the ground she quickly but quietly made her way to the alley she and Harry had been in when the attack had first started. Flinching slightly as she crawled over the body of a young blonde girl that looked like she had been hit with a cutting curse she swallowed back her grief and continued on her way. Once at the alley she watched intently as the students followed her path. Releasing a sigh of relief as the last one entered the alley; she prepared to move forward when one of the children grabbed her sleeve and tugged.

"What is it?" she asked the frightened girl that couldn't have been more then thirteen.

"When I was passing that girl she…she grabbed my arm. She's still alive can you help her?"

Quickly looking towards the blonde again she was shocked to see the slight clenching and unclenching of the girl's hand.

"Ok, you guys wait here for a second I'm gonna grab her. Don't move a muscle. Understood?" Jessica whispered herding the students behind a stack of Honeydukes crates. Without waiting for an answer she snuck back to the edge of the alley.

Peering around the corner carefully, she waited a second before dodging back into the fray.

Harry spun around behind the Death Eater he was fighting and brought the hilt of his sword down onto the back of the mans head. Grinning slightly he watched the mans limp form fall to the ground.

Having already taken out four of the Death Eaters himself he took a moment to center himself and glance down the road to where Jessica and the group of students had been only moments before. Watching intently as the group scrabbled towards the alley, he held his breath when Jessica darted back out only moments later, before sighing when she had picked the body of a young girl up and dashed back into the alley once again.

When his partner didn't leave the alleyway again he silently wished her luck then turned back to the fight at hand. Clashing swords with another Death Eater he failed to notice a tall figure darting away from the others, following the same path Jessica and the others had taken.

* * *

Thanks for reading don't forget to review! Cheers!


	30. Unprepared

Ok, here you go guys. Enjoy! Please Read and review! This one is longer. Let me know what you think.

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Kneeling beside the injured girl, Jessica gently lifted her shirt and groaned. The wound was too severe for her to try and heal with her Mystic Knight abilities. She would have to be taken to Madame Promfrey right away.

Sighing solemnly she carefully picked up the injured girl and quickly made her way back to the alley where the others were waiting.

"Is she ok," Jackson asked looking from the Mystic Knight to the girl, who couldn't have been more then five or six, in her arms.

"We need to get her to the castle as soon as possible." Jessica replied shifting the girl's weight causing her to moan gently, and wake from unconsciousness.

Upon opening her eyes the young girls eyes widened in fear and Jessica rushed to reassure her that she was safe.

"Its ok, don't be afraid, I'm one of the good guys. What's your name?"

"Christine," the blonde girl whispered quietly.

"You're not from Hogwarts are you?" Jessica questioned gently already knowing the girl wasn't.

"No," Christine clarified, "my mommy brought me here today because she needed to talk to Aunt Rosie. She works in the Three Broomsticks pub. Will you help me find them, I need to find them."

"Is Aunt Rosie, Madame Rosmerta?" Jessica questioned quietly thinking of the land lady of the Three Broomsticks. At the girls responding nod she silently prayed the woman had escaped the town unharmed. "I tell you what; let me get you and the others back up to Hogwarts, and then I will come back and look for your mom and aunt, alright?"

"Ok," Christine whispered tiredly.

"Alright, let's go. Follow me and stick together." Jessica stated firmly. Sticking to the wall she quietly crept silently along it. Checking behind her every few feet to make sure her entourage were still following, she expertly made her way to the edge of town and then about fifteen minutes later they made it to the edge of the forbidden forest.

"We're going in there?" a third year cried indignantly staring at the forest in shock and horror. "We can't go in there, Professor Dumbledore said…"

"Look, I thought you guys trusted me. I won't let anything happen to you." Jessica growled. She didn't have time for this. The hairs on the back of her neck had been standing up for about ten minutes, and she had the distinct impression they were being followed. She needed to get them back to the castle right away.

"She's right, she'd never put us in harms way," Jackson stated. "If she wants you to stand on your head and quack like a duck, you'll do it. Understood?

Jessica couldn't help but chuckle at the image placed in her head, "As funny as that would be to see, I just want you guys to trust me. Keep as quiet as you can, and try to stay low to the ground."

"Are you worried about the monsters in there seeing us?" Christine asked quietly as the group trekked carefully through the forest.

'Actually I'm more worried about the Death Eater trailing us.' Jessica thought to herself before saying out loud, "Ya, something like that." A sharp shake of her head stopped anymore questions. Waving them forward the group quietly began its trek to the castle once again.

* * *

Harry breathed a sigh of relief as the last Death Eater was stunned and bound by one of the teachers.

"What's the death count?" Harry asked Professor Dumbledore glancing around at the numerous bodies littering the street.

"Most were stunned, not killed," Dumbledore admitted softly staring at the Mystic Knight before him. "Three teachers were injured, as were a couple of Voldemort's followers but other then that… we were lucky this time. But what about you, were you injured?"

Harry shook his head and sighed. He knew Dumbledore was right, they had been lucky. Glancing up and down the street he grimaced at the damage done by the battle. Zonko's joke shop was in ruins, The Hogs head pub was still standing but smoke was billowing out of the roof, as was the same for many of the other stores on the street. Harry watched silently as groups of adults ran from structure to structure searching for survivors and putting out fires.

"I'm ok," he finally answered, "I was hit in the hand by a shattering curse but I'll get that fixed when I get back to the castle, have you heard anything about Hermione and Ron?" He questioned quietly.

"No, but I'm sure they made it back to the castle ok." Dumbledore stated confidently. "Why don't you head back there yourself, see if your partner made it back ok."

Nodding briefly Harry turned and headed for the nearest side street. Once there he shimmered back to the castle, right into the infirmary doorway.

"… and then she picked up this **_huge_** tree and smashed the Death Eater over the head with it." Harry heard a young girl on a bed say excitedly and she threw her arms in the air to emphasize the largeness of the tree. The young girls captive audience stood around her bed listening in awe as the girl described the events of a battle she had witnessed. Harry noticed most of the crowd had been in Hogsmeade that day.

"Ok, first of all it wasn't a tree; it was barely the size of a baseball bat…" Jessica stated leaning against the wall opposite the girl's bed, blushing slightly under her mask.

But Christine wasn't listening and simply continued the story, exaggerating certain parts here and there, as only a six year old could do.

Sighing and shaking her head in amusement she glanced to the door of the infirmary when she heard a quiet familiar laugh. Smiling she immediately headed over and punched his arm lightly in mock annoyance.

"What are you laughing at?" she grumbled though Harry knew she was smiling, even if he couldn't see it under her metallic mask.

"A tree, eh? Now that's impressive." He teased glancing back at the bed and the large group of students surrounding it. "How big was this tree? Twenty feet, thirty, surely not forty feet?"

Rolling her eyes she stated exasperatedly, "How about I tell you what really happened. Ok, about halfway through the forbidden forest the Death Eater that had been trailing us since Hogsmeade decided to show himself. I passed little Christine over there off to a fifth year named Jackson," she said nodding to the little girl on the bed that still had her crowd entranced with her story, and then to the far corner where a boy their age was leaning against the wall looking extremely amused. Harry figured the boy was Jackson. "We fought for a little while, throwing curses back and forth, until he got in a lucky shot with a slashing curse."

Harry looked at his friend in sudden concern, glancing over her he noticed how filthy she was. Her white ensemble was covered in mud and glancing towards her arm he noticed a large patch of blood. She looked like she had been rolling around in a huge puddle of mud.

"Have you gotten it looked at?" he questioned gently, resisting the urge to take her arm and check for himself.

"Yes, she has," an irate and obviously overworked Madam Promfrey stated stalking over to the pair. "And I would like to take a look at your hand as well."

Harry blinked behind his mask at her no nonsense tone and looked down at his broken hand. Smiling slightly he wondered how it was the nurse always seemed to know when someone was injured. Fighting the urge to sigh in exasperation he allowed himself to be led to a bed. Accepting the potion he nodded once at the medi -witch and waited for her to close his curtain around the bed before removing his mask to drink it.

Grimacing at the fowl taste he shook his head and waited until his mask was replaced before telling Jessica to continue.

"So anyway, I whipped out my sword and we dueled for a while. This guy was good; I mean really good, I was lucky I made it out alive. I don't know who he was but I have a pretty good guess, and I seriously doubt he was a plain old Death Eater." She whispered gently.

Harry frowned in confusion. "But he was dressed as a Death Eater, right? Who else…" Harry stopped suddenly as realization shot through him, leaving him slightly nauseous. Glad he was sitting down, for he surely would have fallen, Harry took a deep breath and whispered, "Voldemort".

Jessica nodded solemnly, "we're not as prepared to face him as we had believed. When he knocked my sword away and I hit the forest floor I thought for sure I was a goner. But Jackson and the others helped me out; they started throwing rocks at him. It distracted him long enough for me to make my move. I grabbed the closest thing, which happened to be a branch, jumped up and smacked him over the head as hard as I could. When he stumbled away from me I rushed to the others and we all got the hell out of dodge."

Sighing lightly she continued, "I'm not ashamed to admit I ran. Those kids were my first priority; I had to get them back to the castle. If they hadn't have been with me I probably would have stayed and fought it out till the end."

Harry was about to chaste her for such thoughts but realized he too would have probably fought a till the end, one way or another, so instead he said, "you did the right thing. And I think your right; we're not as prepared as we should be when It comes to Voldemort. We'll step up our training, both physical and magical. We will be ready, I promise, we just need a little more time."

Jessica nodded finding comfort in her partners confident tone.

"Come on lets get out of here, I think we need to relax for a little while. And you know nothing relaxes me more then flying." He said gently nudging her shoulder lightly as he hopped of the bed. Doing his best to ignore the pain in his hand as his bones mended themselves, he led her past the curtain and back into the now overcrowded infirmary.

Slipping past the teachers and students milling about as they waited for their turn to see Madame Promfrey, Harry and Jessica breathed a sigh of relief as they finally made it out the door.

After stepping into a classroom to 'power down' the duo slowly made their way up to Gryffindor tower.

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the many outlandish stories he heard on the way up to the seventh floor. It would seem that the students that hadn't been injured in Hogsmeade that day were already telling anyone who would listen about their version of what had happened.

"Harry! Thank goodness you guys are ok!" a relieved voice cried as soon as they were passed the fat ladies portrait and in the common room. Before Harry could blink Hermione had thrown her arms around him and had begun to sob into his chest.

Blushing lightly as the whole common room stared he awkwardly patted his friends back. "I'm ok, 'mione." He whispered throwing glares around the room when the other students began to snigger, eyes widening the other students quickly went back to what they had been doing before Harry and Jessica's arrival.

"Glad you're aright, mate." Ron said seriously clapping Harry on the back as he and Ginny joined the three.

"You too, Ron." Harry acknowledged. "Are you ok, Ginny?" he questioned gently seeing his friends pale face and slightly trembling body.

"Yah," the normally fiery red-head whispered.

Finally releasing her friend Hermione stepped towards Ginny and led her to a couch by the fireplace, "why don't we sit down, eh?"

"What happened to her?" Jessica questioned worriedly.

Ron sighed and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck, "she saw a Death Eater torturing a boy in third year," he admitted gently, "She stepped in to help the kid and got hit with the cruciactous curse a few times. Hermione and I managed to distract the Death Eater while Neville and Dean grabbed Ginny and the boy and ran off to the castle. When the teachers showed up and took care of the Death Eater we used the Honeydukes passage you showed us to get back here. By that time Ginny had already been treated and sent back here. The third year hadn't been that lucky he was pretty badly injured and is probably still in the infirmary.

Before Harry could say anything the portrait opened and the students quickly turned to give their head of house, Professor McGonagall, their undivided attention.

"Due to the attack in Hogsmeade Professor Dumbledore has decided to suspend any further trips there." She began, Harry couldn't help but notice she looked a little worse for wear. "Most Death Eaters were captured and I am happy to say no students were killed. I want all of you to get a good nights rest and seeing as tomorrows a Friday Professor Dumbledore has decided to suspend classes for the day to allow those injured a long weekend to recuperate. Have a good night."

And as quickly as she came she was gone. Leaving chattering students in her wake to head up to bed, feeling relieved that their fellow classmates would be alright.

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Hope you enjoyed it. Cheers!


	31. Truths Revealed

Here's the next Chapter. Let me know what you think. Please read and review.

* * *

Before they knew it May was upon them, the students that had been injured were completely healed and although the students of Hogwarts were more cautious then usual, life at the castle was slowly returning to normal.

Professor Snape had awoken a week after the attack and had been furious when he had heard about the Daily Prophet article. He clamed down some on Harry's next visit and had agreed to remain in the Chamber as long as was needed. It wasn't as if he could have gotten out anyways but Harry hadn't mentioned that seeing no need to anger the man furthur. Dobby went down everyday with food and such, Harry tried to visit with the others as often as was possible. Dobby had told Harry after his second visit that Snape was going stir crazy being locked up down there. But there was nothing they could do until the time came to allow him back out again.

Ginny, Ron and Hermione had a rough time after the attack. Harry figured it was just now starting to sink in with them; the whole war situation. The attack at the Ministry a few months ago had shaken the three a little but the one in Hogsmead had terrified them. So much, in fact, Ron had asked if Harry and Jessica could help him with his magic and maybe even teach him the hand to hand combat he had seen them using. The Knights agreed and even agreed to teach Ginny and Hermione too when they had voiced their desire to learn as well.

Hogsmeade had been restored to the way it had been before and Jessica had been pleased to find out that Christine had found her mom and Aunt Rosie alive and well. Rosmerta's pub, however, had been completely destroyed and it had taken two weeks to get it fixed and up and running again.

But best of all was that several Death Eaters had been captured and Voldemort's plan had failed miserably.

Harry and Jessica may have underestimated Voldemort, but they weren't alone. It would appear Voldemort had underestimated the Mystic Knights as well, and he had paid for it in the form of his captured followers.

The night of the attack all the remaining Dearth Eaters were called to a meeting. Draco hadn't returned until the next morning in a grave mood.

It would seem that after they had all been punished (Lucius Malfoy bearing the brunt of it) Draco's father had dragged him back to Malfoy manor in a rage. Being as angry as he was Lucius had made the biggest mistake of his life.

**_(FLASHBACK)_**

"_I don't **bloody** believe it!" Lucius roared as he tossed his son into their manor and slammed the door shut. Anyone could tell by the way he moved and the look on his face the platinum blonde haired man was in great pain. "They **beat** us! A couple of school children in those stupid masks stopped us."_

_Draco limped quietly behind his father as they made there way out of the entrance hall and into the den._

"_Rufus!" Lucius yelled pacing around the large room despite the pain he was in._

_A loud crack announced the arrival of the Malfoy's new house elf. "Y-Yes sir. How can Rufus be of assistance, sir" the trembling house elf questioned partially hiding behind a chair in fear of the angry man._

"_Bring some pain reliving potions from the potion cupboard, NOW!"_

_Draco nearly winced in sympathy as the scared elf stumbled backwards whimpering slightly before squeaking a 'yes sir' and disappearing with another loud crack._

_Lucius and Draco waited in silence for Rufus to return and when he had they took their potion and Lucius dismissed the elf before continuing his rant._

"_It wasn't my fault Dumbledore showed up when he had. If that bloody man hadn't come, we would have had those two right where we wanted them. Then the dark Lord could have done what he had wanted with them and his Rebirth would have gone smoothly and I would have been handsomely rewarded." in his rage at the injustice of the situation Lucius had revealed exactly what Draco had hoped he would._

_Thanking Merlin silently Draco questioned, "Rebirth, what's that?"_

_Growling angrily Lucius dropped into a chair after pouring himself a large glass of fire whisky. "The Rebirth is when you-know-who will become immortal." He snapped impatiently finishing his first glass and pouring himself another before downing it quickly._

_His excitement growing to near overwhelming proportions Draco carefully schooled his face and questioned almost indifferently, "How's he going to do that?"_

_Properly inebriated now, Lucius found himself telling his son about the Rebirth and the tasks involved to prove worthiness to Am-Hem god of the underworld and become indestructible. Unfortunately Lucius didn't know the exact tasks or when they would take place._

_Draco tried to hide his fear but he was sure he was failing. If his father hadn't been so intoxicated Draco was sure he would have picked up on it right away._

_Dismissing himself Draco quickly sped to his room and shut the door. Disrobing he climbed into bed and lay there for many hours worrying about the future and what it had in store for him and the others._

_**(End flashback)**_

Draco had told Harry and Jessica all about it the next morning and since then Harry, Jessica, Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Draco had spent countless hours in the library researching everything that they thought could help them with the difficult task ahead. And that's where the six of them were now.

Hidden at the back of the library, tucked away into a shadowed corner where no one would wander the six sat flipping through books.

"This is useless." Ron moaned flipping another page. "We're not even sure what to look for."

"Honestly Ron," Hermione snapped looking up from the large tome in front of her. "We're looking for more information about the Rebirth that going to be happening in a few weeks."

"But Malfoy's already told us what's going to happen!" Ron exclaimed in annoyance.

"All we know," Jessica pointed out from across the table, "is that Voldemort has tasks to be completed. We don't know what they are or when they are supposed to happen. In order to stop him from achieving his goal we have to make sure he fails the tasks set before him." Jessica explained patiently not looking up from her book.

Sighing in defeat Ron grumbled a little more before returning to his own book.

After another hour Harry sighed and closed his book. "I'm gonna go and check on Snape. Draco why don't you come with me, there's something I need to tell both you and Snape."

Harry and Jessica had discussed this many times and decided that after everything Draco had done from them he deserved to know the truth about them and their other identities. Exchanging knowing looks with Jessica, Harry led a curious Draco out of the library and towards the second floor girl's bathroom.

Draco watched Harry hiss at the sink in Myrtle's bathroom with a passiveness that could only come after countless times of seeing it before. The first time he saw this he thought Harry had gone mad, but when the tunnel had opened he stared in awe at what he then realized was the infamous Chamber of Secrets. Now as he waited patiently for the tunnel to open he let his curiosity get the better of him and questioned, "What's going on, Harry?"

Harry grinned and leapt down into the hole sliding along the recently cleaned tunnel wall and stumbling slightly when he hit the bottom. The first time Harry had come back into the chamber it was as it had been three years ago. The tunnel walls were covered with a thick slime and the ground littered with small animal bones. Deciding this was too unsanitary to be the group's secret headquarters, a couple of simple yet powerful cleaning charms had restored the chamber to its former glory. Underneath the slime had been beautiful marble walls and Harry added a finish to the stone floor to make it shine. 'Much better' he had thought looking up and down the long tunnel before headed to the Chamber itself to clean that up as well. It had taken Harry the better part of two days to completely restore the large chamber and dispose of the rotting body of the long deceased Basilisk, but once he had Harry couldn't have imagined it looking any better then it did.

Strolling silently down the long tunnel that led to Salazar's chamber Harry chose to remain silent, a wide grin on his face; leaving the Slytherin to become more curious and impatient.

Around the next bend Harry and Draco saw a solid wall ahead on which two entwined serpents were carved, their eyes set with large emeralds. Hissing a command in Parseltongue he watched patiently as the wall opened and the two halves slipped out of sight.

Stepping into the long Chamber Harry paused a moment to admire the room. Stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents supported a high ceiling which, due to the shadows, Harry was not able to see. Shadows danced along the walls from the numerous lanterns and candles placed in the chamber, and straight ahead stood the large statue of Salazar Slytherin.

At the statues feet sat a small house that Snape and Dobby had built for the professor to live in while he was to remain in the Chamber. It was comfortable one bedroom house with a working kitchen and full bathroom as well as a moderately sized lounge for entertaining guests. The amazing part was that the house looked more like a small garden shed on the outside. It reminded Harry of the tent he and the Weasley's shared at the Quidditch world cup the year before. It looked small on the outside but on the inside it was the size of a decent apartment.

"Evening' Professor, how are you?" Harry asked politely as he and Draco sopped in front of the house where the man had been sitting at a small table reading a book.

"Potter," the irate man practically growled with a curt nod of his head.

Harry knew the Professor was going crazy locked down here on his own so he ignored the attitude that the potions masters' voice held. Instead he seated himself across from the man and gestured for Draco to take the last chair.

Once situated Harry calmly looked between the two before taking a deep breath. "There's something I need to tell you two," he started, glancing at them each in turn. Another deep breath, "Ok, here goes nothing…"

* * *

Harry sighed in relief as he and Draco stepped out of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. All things considered the conversation had gone pretty well.

Draco had just stared at Harry in silence, looking slightly stunned, but also as if he had suspected it at the same time.

Snape on the other hand had turned a couple of different shades of red and had yelled at Harry for what seemed like hours denying everything Harry had told him. After several demonstrations of his abilities, Snape had finally, although begrudgingly, accepted what Harry was telling him. And after several more minutes of 'Potter bashing', as his friends had so lovingly dubbed it, Snape retreated back to his house to think things through, leaving Harry and Draco with an opportunity to get out of there.

Silently the two fifth years made it to the entrance hall and bade each other a good night before turning to retreat to their dorms.

"Hey Harry," Draco called the raven haired boy before he disappeared up the stairs. "Thanks for giving me a chance. You had no reason to trust me back on the train but you did. And I…well… thanks." He stated before quickly turning and walking away.

Harry grinned and stared after the platinum haired boy for a moment before heading up to Gryffindor tower.

* * *

"Hiya Harry," Colin Creevy called running up the staircase behind him. "Where have you been all night? And what were you doing with Draco Malfoy; I thought you guys hated each other? Can you…"

Holding up a hand to forestall and more questions Harry chuckled, "I went to the kitchens for a late night snack, Colin. And your right Malfoy and I don't get along, but he just happened to be going the same place and I was too hungry to turn back so…." Harry knew the whole school still thought Draco and he hated each other and they had decided it was better that way. After all a Slytherin couldn't be friends with Harry Potter, I mean, what would Voldemort say? So the past few months they had carried on as normal, throwing snide remarks back and forth and openly fighting in front of the other students. The only difference this time is that both boys knew they were only acting, and didn't mean what they were saying.

Colin nodded and smiled brightly at the fifth year and silently followed the raven haired boy up to Gryffindor tower and past the fat lady's portrait.

"You know I never thought you were crazy, right? When Fudge was saying all that stuff about you and Dumbledore I never believed it. I just wanted you to know that." Colin whispered seriously before flashing Harry a smile and scurrying up to his dorm.

Harry blinked in surprise and stood in the empty common room staring after the younger boy. After the attack at the Ministry at Christmas Harry had heard no more snide comments in the hallway about his 'supposedly' made up stories involving the return of the Dark Lord, and the Daily Prophet had even printed a retraction of their previous statement regarding his mental health. No one had spoke of it since, and Harry was ok with letting it go, even though for those few months he believed the whole school had once again assumed the worst of him. But knowing that at least one person had never believed Fudge's 'crazy' story made him feel a little better about the whole fiasco.

Smiling to himself he plopped himself on the couch in front of the fire and dropping his head onto the back he closed his eyes: content to sit in silence.

After a few minutes he felt the couch depress next to him and Jessica's familiar scent filled his nose. To Harry he thought she always smelled like freshly fallen rain.

Sitting in companionable silence for a few moments Harry decided to break the silence. "How did researching go?"

"We still haven't found anything," Jessica admitted glancing at her friend, whose head was still resting on the couch and his eyes still closed. "I ordered a book I heard about from Greg he thinks we might be able to find something in there, it should arrive in a week or two. What about you? How did Snape and Draco take the news?"

Opening his eyes Harry rolled his head to the side to look at her, "Draco wasn't all that surprised, he said he had suspected as much. Snape on the other hand was completely livid. Didn't believe a word I was saying and even after all the demonstrations I did I don't think he's completely convinced."

Jessica laughs, "So it went well then," she teased nudging her friend lightly. "He'll get used to the idea sooner or later; try not to worry about it, Harry."

Again silence descended on the pair and it was another few minutes before Jessica stood and stretched.

"I'm off to bed, you should think about going soon too. Tomorrow's Saturday so we have a full day of studying ahead of us. Goodnight Harry," she whispered ruffling his hair affectionately. Stopping suddenly she turned back, "Hey Harry?"

"Yeah," he questioned turning around to face her, seeing the worry on her face.

"The day of the attack, when we were in that alley…" she hesitated, with all the other stuff going on Jessica hadn't brought up that day, not wanting to heap anymore stress on her friends shoulders. But now her curiosity had finally gotten the better of her and she couldn't help but wonder what he had been about to say before the Death Eaters had arrived. Breathing deeply she finished the sentence, "what were you going to tell me?"

Harry sighed in relief, after that day he hadn't known how to bring up the conversation again and was glad that Jessica had. Once again he readied himself for telling her the truth, taking a deep breath he decided just to get it over with quickly. 'Like pulling off a band- aid' he thought to himself.

Opening his mouth he was interrupted when a sleepy Ron Weasley came stumbling down the stairs, "Oy, there you are. It's really late what are you still doing up? Come on, if 'mione finds out you were up this late she'll have your head." the red head said nodding his head towards the boys dorm he waited till Harry joined him before starting up the stairs.

Another attempt thwarted Harry quickly lost his nerve and mumbled an apologetic goodnight to Jessica before following the red head.

Staring after the boys in bemusement Jessica sighed, shook her head, and headed up to bed herself.

* * *

Poor Harry, will he ever be able to tell Jessica his true feelings? Will Voldemort be stopped In time? Will Snape FINALLY wash his hair? Tune in next week! LOL. Cheers!


	32. Plans

Ok, here's the next chapter. Hope you guy's enjoy it. Please read and review!

* * *

"Harry, we've found it."

Harry and Ron spun around in their seats. They had been sitting in the library for three hours now and still had nothing to show for it. Hermione and Jessica had left about an hour earlier. Jessica had said her book was arriving today and the two had gone to fetch it from the owelery.

"Found what?" Ron questioned stretching lazily.

"Oh, for goodness sake Ron, what do you think?" Hermione exclaimed slamming a large book onto the table.

"Shhh," hissed Jessica, "we're going to get kicked out."

Hermione mumbled an apology, slightly embarrassed by her outburst, before quickly opening the book in front of her and pointing triumphantly. "Professor Talon was right. There was something helpful in the book he suggested. There are three tasks you-know-who has to accomplish to prove himself worthy of Am-Hem's gift. Unfortunately it doesn't say what they are because Am-Hem himself appears and appoints the tasks. But the third and final task is the one we have a chance at stopping."

"Isn't that cutting it a little close isn't it, shouldn't we do it on the first or second." Ron questioned.

Sitting down across from the two boys, Jessica answered, "No. From what little we've been able to figure out, the first and second tasks have to do with Voldemort only." Seeing their perplexed looks Jessica elaborated, "See, the first task is a battle_ inside_ Voldemorts mind. Whatever he's going to be doing will be in his own mind, where we can't enter, probably a battle of wills or something."

Hermione continued the explanation, "The second task will take place in a different dimension, one that Am-Hem will choose, and, consequently, somewhere we can't get go."

"And the third?" Harry questioned glancing back and forth between the girls.

"The third will take place at a place of Voldemort's choosing." Jessica replied. "This is our best bet because not even Voldemort is able to jump dimensions whenever he pleases so he's going to have to pick a place in our world. And it's probably going to be somewhere he feels safe or more powerful."

"The graveyard," Harry whispered. "In the Triwizard tournament when Cedric and I were portkeyed out of the maze we ended up in a graveyard. Voldemort's father had been buried there and he used the location to return to power. If he picks anyplace it will probably be that graveyard."

Hermione nodded brightly, "That's what we figured."

"As far as we can figure all the tasks are battles. If Voldemort doesn't lose the first two, we have to make sure he doesn't win the third or Am-Hem will grant Voldemort immortality and our world is history." Jessica said solemnly.

"But there are certain rules, right?" Ron pointed out, "Every ceremonial battle like the ones you-know-who will be participating in have certain rules. If we were to disrupt them in anyway, the battle would be forfeited to the one whom we were working against. So if we were to try and make sure you-know-who lost, the battle would be forfeited and victory would be his."

Hermione, Harry and Jessica all stared at Ron in open shock.

"T-that's right," Hermione whispered in awe staring at Ron completely dumbfounded.

"Oh, come on, you lot," Ron snapped testily, "I'm not completely stupid I do know some stuff."

"You're right, sorry Ron." Harry said shaking his head lightly.

"Anyway, we won't need to disrupt it. According to the text, that last battle is between Voldemort and his greatest enemy." Jessica said looking at Harry sadly.

Dropping his head into his hands Harry groaned, "I take it we're not talking about Dumbledore are we?"

"No. I think," Jessica said hesitantly, "this is what your prophecy has been leading up to."

Shooting Hermione, who looked just as confused, a look Ron questioned, "What prophecy?"

Harry sighed, and without lifting his head from his hands recited the very prophecy he had been told many months ago,

**"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"_** (This excerpt came from the fifth book, OOTP, and I don't own it as all rights belong to J..)

Silence reined at the table for what, to Harry, seemed like hours. He had had the same reaction when the prophecy had been told to him.

"What does that mean?" Ron whispered already knowing the answer but wanting to confirm it.

"It means that only I can kill Voldemort and until I do so I will never be free from this damn prophecy." Harry answered sadly.

"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Hermione questioned sounding hurt, and slightly annoyed.

"Honestly I haven't thought about it for a while and I didn't want to risk that it would somehow be leaked to Voldemort. As far as we know, Voldemort only knows half of the prophecy, that's why he tried to kill me as a baby. He didn't know that, by attacking me and giving me this," he pointed to the lightning bolt scar on his forehead, "that he would be setting the prophecy in motion and marking me his equal. I guess that's why some of his powers, like the Parseltongue, transferred to me. Now back to this third task…"

Seeing Hermione was still mulling over everything Harry had said Jessica was the one to answer, "Right, so anyway, the night of the task you will be summoned from wherever you are and delivered to Voldemort. You'll battle and if he wins he gains the immortality."

"What if I win?"

"We all get to live to see another day," Hermione said shrugging gently. "The text never said what would happen if the opponent won, apparently it's never happened."

Harry shot Hermione a sarcastic 'thanks' before dropping her eyes gloomily to stare at the table.

Jessica grasped Harry's hand, "Let's just worry about making sure you're the one to walk away from the duel with Voldemort. You know what that means don't you?" she stated seriously a grin edging onto her lips.

Harry groaned and thunked his head on the table in front of him in mock despair, "Not more training!"

His friends all laughed and after a moment Harry joined in. Although the whole situation wasn't really that funny Harry enjoyed the cheerfulness, knowing that in a few weeks time he and his friends wouldn't have much to laugh about.

* * *

Draco Malfoy stood next to his father in the circle of Death Eaters waiting, somewhat impatiently, for the meeting Voldemort had called to start.

Finally the Dark lord strode towards the group and into the middle of the circle, his snakelike face twisted into a grotesque smile.

"As some of you know, in three weeks time the Rebirth will begin. However most of you know not of what I speak." Voldemort said. So for the benefit of those who didn't know he gave them a quick rundown of what was to come.

"Does that mean your last battle will be against Dumbledore, my Lord?" one of the more courageous followers asked slightly confused about who his Lord's greatest enemy was.

"No, fool," Voldemort hissed, "my final battle will be against, **_Potter._**" He spat Harry's name out in disgust.

Draco's heart stopped and he fought hard to keep an indifferent look on his face, which proved to be quite difficult.

"When I defeat that boy once and for all I will be made invincible and will finally be able to finish what I was unable to fifteen years ago. And you my faithful followers will get your just rewards."

The robed men whispered excitedly among themselves, as they thought about what their reward would be.

"The night of my final battle, I want you all to make sure no one comes to young Potter's rescue. Dumbledore and the other teachers, not to mention those bloody Mystic Knights, must be kept away from us. That night you shall storm Hogwarts castle, and kill everyone, leaving Potter and I alone, so that I may kill him without interference. Is that understood?"

"Yes, My Lord." The congregation answered as one, smirks forming on their faces behind their masks.

One, however, was not smiling. Draco Malfoy stood stock still, his fear and anxiety thrumming through his entire body. The only thing on his mind was telling Harry as soon as possible.

"In three weeks time, our day shall come, and the world will fear and obey us."

The Death Eaters roared in hearty approval and bowed to their Lord, looking forward to their part in Voldemort's plan.

* * *

Harry sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Looking at the Slytherin in front of him he smiled in appreciation.

"Thanks for letting us know," he said quietly glancing around the nearly empty pub he Jessica and Draco sat in. "What do you think we should do?" he questioned his friends.

"Tell Dumbledore," Jessica responded immediately. "If we can find out the exact night the attack is to happen, Dumbledore can empty the castle and he and the other teachers, and volunteers to fight the Death Eaters that show up themselves. Leaving us to go to the graveyard, and fight Voldemort and the remaining Death Eaters he's bound to have there with him."

Harry bit his lip, knowing what he was about to say would probably anger his partner. "Maybe you should stay at the castle and help the others." He proposed softly.

A spark of anger shot through Jessica's eye, "No way! That's not going to happen, Harry. We're partners, I'm not going to throw you to the wolves and hope for the best, I'll be right next to you fighting. I promise."

Draco watched as the two Gryffindor's stared at each other, a silent battle raging between them, he shook his head slightly amused.

"Fine," Harry mumbled breaking eye contact, "Alright, do what you want." Though he wouldn't admit it Harry was glad she was going with him. He didn't want to go alone.

"I'm going to," Draco drawled, raising a hand to silence Harry when he began to protest, he explained. "My Father and a couple other Death Eaters will be at the battle that night, in case something was to happen. I have a score to settle with him, so I'll be there to help Jessica with the group while you deal with v-v-Voldemort."

Harry groaned and dropped his head into his hands knowing there was nothing he could say to change the Slytherins mind.

"You know, that if I should lose, you'll be labeled a traitor and killed right?" he had to make sure Draco understood that there was a possibility of that happening.

"I know," Draco shrugged.

Harry nodded and silence reined.

"When you tell Dumbledore about the attack, he's going to ask how you know this," Draco said slowly, "what are you going to tell him?"

"I'll just tell him I had another one of my dreams. I won't mention anything about you. He still doesn't know about what really happened with Snape and yourself and I would prefer to keep it that way." Harry whispered taking a sip of his butterbeer and glancing at Draco.

Draco nodded and the three finished their drinks in companionable silence. After paying their bill the three friends left the pub and worked their way back through Hogsmeade.

Jessica glanced at Draco, "Harry and I were going to step up our training and include Ginny, Hermione and Ron. Do you want to join us?"

Glancing at Harry and Jessica he mumbled, "I don't think they like me very much."

"Hermione and Ginny are still a little wary about you," Harry admitted, "but they like you. Ron, well, Ron is just really stubborn. But I think even he is starting to like you; I think his anger and resentment for you is more for show now a days. We'd really like it if you joined us…but it's your choice. If you want to come meet us by the Forbidden forest at four." Harry said before he and Jessica broke off from the Slytherin heading up the stairs towards Gryffindor tower.

"Four…as in A.M!" Draco yelled after them. When laughter was his only answer the Slytherin headed to bed himself, muttering about crazy Gryffindor's.

* * *

Well hope i didn't disappoint.


	33. Conversations

Happy Easter everyone! Here's the next Chapter I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think!

* * *

One week later…

"Faster," Greg Talon snapped, blocking Harry's right fist and throwing it back at him while crouching and trying to sweep Harry's legs out from under the Gryffindor.

Harry grunted and jumped over his mentor's legs, lashing out with his foot; Harry's foot connected with the man's head and sent him crashing to the ground.

Sweat soaking through his tank top Harry remained tense and watched Greg shake his head lightly before jumping back to his feet.

"Excellent, Harry." The man smiled dusting his robes off.

Harry relaxed when he realized Greg wasn't going to attack again. Breathing heavily he bent at the waist and placed his hands on his knees, trying to calm his racing heart.

"You need to remember that this duel you have coming up with Voldemort involve more then just magical strength. Throwing in some physical aspects wouldn't hurt."

Harry nodded but didn't reply. He and Greg had been sparring non-stop for nearly two hours and the Gryffindor was exhausted.

"Here," a gentle voice whispered from next to him.

Standing up Harry took the water bottle from Jessica and drained it quickly before smiling. "Thanks."

"Hey, where's mine." Greg teased watching the interaction between the partners with a knowing smile.

"In the cooler, I'm sure you can manage getting it yourself," Jessica replied smirking at the man before striding back to Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Draco to continue teaching them Tae Kwon Do.

Harry chuckled and tossed his bottle to the side. Wiping his hands across his face Harry rubbed them dry on his shorts before pulling out his wand.

Greg laughed and pulled his own wand from the holster on his arm, "I suppose that means you're ready to train with magic now."

Harry chuckled and nodded once. Now that he had gotten his second wind, Harry was looking forward to training some more. Knowing he was going to need all the practice he could get.

* * *

"Are you sure? When is the attack going to take place?" Albus Dumbledore questioned gazing intently at the Mystic Knights seated across from him.

Harry nodded once, "The dream was like the one I had the summer before last year. The Death Eaters are going to attack on the twentieth of June." Harry said solemnly. Draco had learned the night before at the Death Eater meeting when the fateful night would take place and Harry and Jessica had decided to tell the Headmaster about the attack the next day.

Sighing and dropping his head to stare intently at his desk. Dumbledore silently contemplated the dilemma. After several moments he looked back up, his eyes showing his advanced years.

"What do you propose we do?" he questioned gently.

"Send the students away," Jessica suggested softly, "and gather all the teachers and parents you can find to help you fight them. Try and keep it quiet though we don't need Voldemort to know we're onto him."

Dumbledore nodded, "And what will you two be doing?" he questioned sharply noticing Harry never mentioned that.

"I will be going after Voldemort. Jessica will come with me to take care of any Death Eaters hanging around him."

"Harry…" Dumbledore frowned, "I can't allow you to do that."

"With all due respect sir," Harry replied, "I'm not asking for your permission. This is my destiny and I'm ready to face it. Voldemort and I will have our final battle and the prophecy will be fulfilled, one way or another."

Dumbledore glared at Harry, "You're far too young Harry, leave Voldemort to me…"

"I may be young sir, but I am not powerless. You know as well as I do that this is my fight and I'm not going to walk away from it. I _will_ be going and you _will_ remain at Hogwarts to help in the fight that will take place the same night. This isn't open for discussion; we just wanted to inform you of what's going on. Now if you'll excuse us, Jessica and I should be getting back to our common room."

Dumbledore, realizing he wouldn't be able to talk him out of it, silently watched Harry lead Jessica out of his office.

* * *

After several minutes of following Harry as he stormed through the castle, Jessica finally grabbed his arm bringing the irate boy to a sudden halt. Gently tugging on his arm she led him through a door and into an empty classroom, knowing it was late in the night and no one would disturb them.

"Are you ok?" she questioned gently pushing him into a chair and crouching in front of him.

"Yah, I guess he just kind of rubbed me the wrong way you know. Who does he think he is telling me what I can or can't do?"

"He's just worried about you, Harry. It's his way of trying to take care of you…" Jessica explained.

"More like control me," Harry muttered calming slightly when Jessica took his hand and squeezed gently. "He can't tell me what to do anymore; I'm not the easily intimidated eleven year old I used to be. I'm a man and can make my own decisions, I don't… I'll always respect him, but, I don't need him to tell me what to do anymore."

"I know," Jessica whispered. "Just try to remember he's only trying to help before going off on him again, ok?"

Harry nodded, "Ya, sorry."

Jessica grinned slyly, "Although it was amusing if you think about it." She added trying to cheer up her friend.

Laughing, Harry reached forward and grabbed his friend, pulling her into a tight hug, his mood unmistakably lightened.

Hugging him back she waited a few minutes before pulling back and smiling at him, "I don't know about you but I'm ready for bed." Rising from her crouching position Jessica held out her hand, waiting to pull him up and be on their way when he took it.

Taking her hand and standing Harry agreed and they continued on their way to Gryffindor tower, their hands remaining entwined the whole way.

* * *

"What are we doing in here?" Draco questioned following Harry and Jessica deeper into the Forbidden forest, trying to ignore the grumbling Ron behind him. "We already trained this morning, are we going to do it again?"

Harry chuckled at the barely concealed excitement in the Slytherins voice. Since Harry had first asked the boy to join them in the mornings he had noticed how hard Draco was trying to keep up and the fun he had while doing it. And to his, and everyone else's great surprise, the boy had excelled in the muggle art of defense and offense; Tae Kwon Doe.

He chuckled again when he thought back to that first morning…

_Harry grinned as a bleary eyed Draco Malfoy stumbled towards him and his friends, rubbing his hands roughly over his face._

"_Morning, Sunshine!" Harry teased laughing when the only answer he got was a glare and rude hand gesture. "Now Draco, there's no need for that," he said mock angrily._

_Throwing another gesture Harry's way, Draco had trouble keeping the amused grin off his face._

"_Alright you lot, lets get this over with." The Slytherin mumbled good naturedly._

_Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Jessica, Harry and Draco silently made their way through the forest to the clearing Harry and Jessica had been using for training. Each using the silence to wake up a little more and gather their wits about them._

"_Ok," Harry said when they had arrived. "We'll be doing this in groups. Jessica will teach the non magical self defense; Tae Kwon Do. While I teach the magic portion of our training. Draco, Ginny you guys are with Jessica for today. Hermione, you and Ron will enjoy my company today." Harry threw his friends an amused grin._

"_Hold on, I don't need to learn some muggle thing," Draco snapped, "I came to learn more spells and…"_

"_Just give it a chance," Harry interrupted gently, "if you can't use magic for whatever reason this 'muggle thing' can really come in handy."_

_Rolling his eyes Draco muttered a 'fine,' before stomping over to Ginny and Jessica and plopping himself onto the grass next to the red head._

"_Alright," Jessica started, "Today we'll start out with the basics of Tae Kwon Do. Tae Kwon Do consists of both offensive and defensive movements. When on the defensive you mostly stick to using your forearms like a weapon to block in various directions, protecting your lower, middle and upper body. When on the offensive you mainly just use your hands and feet as weapons to incapacitate your opponent."_

_Harry glanced across the clearing and smiled. Draco's interest had obviously been peaked. Although the Slytherin was trying to hide it Harry could tell the boy was interested in what Jessica was saying. Chuckling gently he turned to Hermione and Ron ready to get his lesson on the way._

**End Flashback…**

"Sorry, but no," Jessica smiled back at him hopping over a particularly large tree trunk, "We're holding a meeting with the animals in the Forbidden forest, trying to get some back up for when the Death Eaters storm the castle."

Blinking in surprise Draco tilted his head in question, "Well… why am I here?"

"We thought you would find it interesting," Harry answered throwing the Slytherin a grin over his shoulder as he pushed some branches out of Jessica's way, letting the girl precede him.

Draco didn't answer, instead just narrowed his eyes suspiciously and continued to follow the pair, though he still wasn't completely satisfied with the answer.

Ron frowned in confusion, "What about me then, why am I here?"

Both Harry and Jessica stopped suddenly and turned to face Ron, "You'll see," they answered together eerily, before spinning back around and continuing the trek deeper into the forest.

Harry shot Jessica an amused grin and barely contained his snicker, as he heard Ron sputtering behind them and a glance over his shoulder showed the boy paling slightly. Finally letting himself laugh out loud Harry turned around again to smile goofily at his red-headed friend. "Relax Ron; we were just trying to freak you out. It obviously worked too; you should have seen your face." His laughter was quickly joined by Jessica and Draco. Ron shot them all a weak glare before smiling lightly then laughing with them.

"We're here," Jessica said a few minutes later, leading the way into a clearing that was even larger then the one they used for training. "Looks like we're the first ones here too," she added glancing around the empty meadow.

'Don't be so sure,' Argent, the leader of the Unicorn's said trotting majestically into the clearing followed closely by two more Unicorns'. "We were merely waiting for you to arrive before showing ourselves. Purely a safety precaution, you see." The elderly male Unicorn explained gently.

Harry and Jessica nodded in understanding. Draco and Ron who had only heard neighing had no idea what was being said, so decided it was best to stay quiet for now.

'Yes, young one,' Moondance said coming up behind the Hogwarts students, 'you and your friends, are in fact the last to arrive to this meeting you have scheduled.'

As Moondance sat next to the Unicorn's a few more creatures started to emerge from the tree line. The four friends watched as a couple Centaurs entered the clearing, followed closely by Shirerton and Kiararic. Grinning slightly Harry saw a few of the Vampire's that had opposed Voldemort to fight for the light side standing in the tree's; away from the sunlight streaming into the clearing. A few other creatures Harry did not recognize were joining the small group as well.

"I hope you aren't going to start without me," a deep voice wheezed tiredly.

Harry's mouth dropped open in stunned surprise as he watched the huge spider slowly make his way into the clearing.

After a moment of silence Ron sputtered out, "I thought you wanted nothing to do with the war? You made it clear you wouldn't oppose us, but you also wouldn't fight for us."

Aragog chuckled, "I have changed my mind. When Moondance told me about the attack I decided we could be of assistance."

"Not to mention the all you can eat Buffet," Harry said with a raised eyebrow and stern look, he knew the spider would likely want to eat the Death Eaters they catch.

"Well, that may have been a factor," the mammoth arachnid conceded.

Harry sighed and glanced at Jessica, who just shrugged and glanced back at Aragog.

"We could use the help," she pointed out quietly a few seconds later.

"Fine," Harry agreed. "Alright, to make this meeting go smoother Jessica will incant a spell she found a couple weeks ago. Basically it just turns everything you guys say into English so everyone else will be able to understand, and will enable all of you to understand English as well."

As Harry had been explaining her spell, Jessica had set up five candles surrounding a circle of rocks she had made the day before. Lighting them quickly she stepped back and raised her hand towards the circle. Quickly saying the spell she and the others watched as a large purple fire erupted inside the circle of rocks. At first it looked like the purple fire was trying to escape the confines of the circle, but the candles would flare up, driving the purple fire back to the center, keeping it under tight restraint. A light purple cloud rose out of the fire and surrounded the group gently wafting around their heads before disappearing back into the fire.

Stepping back to Harry, Jessica said, "Can everyone understand me?"

'"Yes," Argent answered, looking slightly surprised that he could understand and speak English.

Harry turned to Ron and Draco, "Did you two understand that?" After they nodded in the affirmative Harry grinned and motioned the boys to stand next to Moondance. "Then let's get this meeting started."

"As you all know," Jessica took over glancing at everyone in turn her eyes serious, "In about a week Voldemort's followers are going to attack the school. According to our source the attack will take place on the twentieth of June and will include Death Eaters, what's left of the Werewolves and Vampires, except those three of course," Jessica added waving to the three vampires hiding in the shadows listening intently. "And we have also found that Voldemort was able to recruit some of the Giants I'm afraid."

Whispers broke out among the group, the shock and anxiety clear in their voices.

"How many Giants has he got?" Ron questioned quietly. Not having heard this news before.

"As many as twenty," Harry admitted. "We know this is bad, guys. But we have to stick together if we expect to win this war. Defeating this group is going to be really hard and we're going to need a great strategy to keep this army at bay. Which is why I called you all here, Jessica and I have decided we need a…general of sorts, to lead the fight and plan strategy over here while Jessica Draco and I are off fighting Voldemort." Turning to look his best friend in the eye Harry continued, "Ron, we want you to do it."

Ron paled and stumble backwards in shock, "Are you bloody mad, I… I can't, I don't know how."

"We believe you're the best person for the job," Harry pointed out gently, "your skill with chess and your desire to do the best you can makes you the perfect man for the job. Just think of it as a big game of chess, you know the pieces and their strengths and weaknesses, now all you have to do is get them positioned the way you want them. I know you can do it Ron."

Jessica nodded in agreement, "we have nothing but Faith in you."

"They are right, Weasley, you are the best man for the job." Draco added seriously, though it looked slightly painful for him to admit it.

"Does anyone here have a problem working for Ron?" Harry asked the crowd.

The three vampires had a quick discussion in the shadows before the leader spoke up, "If you all believe he can do it, we will give him a chance."

Argent nodded, "You have our herd at your disposal, Mr. Weasley.'"

Aragog chuckled deeply, "I told you before I liked your sprit, when we are done here I shall inform my children you they are to abide by whatever you say."

More answers of approval came from the other members gathered around the clearing and Harry grinned happily at the approval Ron was receiving.

Shire and Kiara as well as the group of Centaurs were the last to voice their approval of the new leader.

Ron slowly got his bearings and lost his pale pallor, hearing the approval from so many gave him the confidence he needed to accept this difficult job.

"I'll do my best not to disappoint," he whispered seriously.

"Any ideas you have, now would be a good time to share them." Harry stated, proud of his friend.

Glancing around the clearing at the rapt attention he was receiving Ron nodded once, "Actually I do have a few I've been thinking of," He admitted with a grin.

* * *

YAY RON. Cheers!


	34. It has begun

June 20…

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and studied the happy students as they ate their dinner. Only a select few people knew that soon Voldemort's army would be attacking. Only a select few knew that in a matter of minutes Dumbledore would be portkeying the entire student body to a safe house in order to prepare for the arrival of the Dark Lord. Harry had suggested not telling the student body of the evacuation until the last minute, thereby making sure none of the students loyal to Voldemort would be able to warn him of their plans.

Clearing his throat Dumbledore rose to his feet and called the school to attention. Once he had their interest he briefly met Harry's eyes and began to speak.

"In a matter of hours an attack will occur upon our school," he began, waiting until the pandemonium had subsiding a little before continuing, "Due to this, the teachers and I have made portkey's that will take all students to a safe house where they will be looked after by a couple of volunteers and various wards we have placed for your protection. Due to safety concerns no student will be allowed to send or receive owls and you will be required to remain at the house until this situation has been resolved. The teachers and I, along with Aurors, and many volunteers will remain here to meet his forces."

Whispers broke out among the group. Some were scared for their teachers, other (mostly the older years) wished to stay and fight with them, and many of the Slytherins were angry that they wouldn't be able to contact their parents and warn them of Dumbledore's knowledge of the attack and their measures to counteract it.

"I know many of you wish to stay and help with our efforts, but its best if you were to leave and help keep the peace at the safe house." Dumbledore continued holding a hand up to forestall any protests he knew were coming. "This is not up for discussion, now if you will all please gather around your heads of house, they have your portkey's at the ready."

Grudgingly the students all gathered around their heads of house and ach placed a finger on the boots the teachers were holding out. By the end only the teachers, Harry, Ron, Jessica, Hermione and Draco remained in the great hall. Both Harry and Ron had pleaded with Hermione to go with the other students, but she wouldn't have it. She insisted on remaining with her friends till the end, so Ron had reluctantly agreed to let her help with the planning and execution of his ideas.

"Is everything ready?" Professor Dumbledore questioned looking at Harry.

Harry shrugged and nodded his head pointedly towards Ron, "Don't ask me, Ron's in charge, he's the brains of this operation."

Sighing gently Dumbledore repeated his question, this time speaking to the lightly blushing red-head.

"Um… yah, everything's set and ready to go. Fred and George are waiting upstairs for my signal. Did you make sure none of the others are arriving through the Entrance Hall?"

"Minerva and I made some portkeys that will bring specific groups to the spots you asked for, and they all know not to stray from their positions." Dumbledore assured the young Gryffindor, smiling at how the red head seemed to have come into his own.

"Albus…" Professor McGonagall said breathlessly entering the Great Hall through the door they had created because they were unable to go through the Entrance Hall, "I've just got word. Everyone's in position and you-know-who's army is almost at Hogwarts gate."

"It has begun," Dumbledore said gravely. "Hopefully 's surprise outside will help us gain the advantage," smiling gently at the red- head he turned to Harry, Jessica and Draco. "I wish you the best of luck, please be careful." His eyes full of sincere concern he studied each face as if trying to remember every detail. Clapping Harry on the shoulder he quickly led a slightly misty eyed McGonagall over to the other teachers who had just returned from dropping the other students at the safe house.

Ron watched as Jessica and Draco moved a respectable distance away, before taking a deep breath and sharing a solemn smile with his two best friends. Soon the battle the last five years had been leading up to would be upon them, and they all knew this might be the last time they would be together.

Steeling himself Ron held his hand out in front of him, smiling when Harry and Hermione instinctively placed their right hands over his.

"This is it," Hermione whispered tightening her hold on the boy's hands as if afraid they might pull away, "we're really going to do this."

"Yah," Ron answered softly, smiling fondly at Hermione as she tried in vain to stop her tears.

"You guy's can do this, I know you can." Harry put in strongly, having nothing but faith in his friends. "And one day you'll be able to tell your grandchildren the stories."

"_We_ can do this," Ron corrected gently, including Harry "When this is over we'll all get together and throw a huge party, we'll party for days on end." Ron added gently squeezing his friends' hands and grinning goofily.

Hermione let out a half sob, half laugh before nodding and pulling the boys into a bone crushing hug, "Then let's get this over with."

The three friends shared one last smile before breaking away, dropping each others hands.

"Harry," a soft voice questioned placing a kind hand on the raven haired boys shoulder. "I'd like a moment with you and Jessica."

Harry smiled reassuringly at his friends before turning and following Greg and Jessica into a quiet corner on the far side of the Great Hall.

"I just wanted to wish you both the best of luck," the usually stoical man whispered kindly, "I'm very proud of you both and all of your accomplishments. When you come into full power there's no doubt in my mind you'll be the best Mystic Knights this world will ever know."

Grinning warmly Jessica said, "We learned from the best,"

Greg smiled and yanked the Gryffindor's into a brief hug before backing off. Seeing Harry's godfather and Remus heading their way, Greg wished them luck once more before walking away to join the other teachers.

Harry also noticing his Godfathers quick strides towards him sighed gently, knowing he would be in for a long lecture.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside Hogwarts gate…..

"The wards are down, Sir." A Death Eater told his superior quietly. "Do you wish to proceed?"

Garbe thought for a moment. When Voldemort had put him in charge, Garbe had known his job would not be easy, and that his decisions could affect the very outcome of the battle. Something seemed off to him, it was almost _too_ easy getting into the supposedly least accessible place of all time.

"Zabani," he snapped his eyes roaming suspiciously over the grounds of the school.

"Sir?" the man questioned his voice cold and hard as he stepped forward

"Did your boy mention anything about Dumbledore knowing of our plans?"

"No, Blaise said everything was normal in the school. Dumbledore didn't have a clue what was going on. Many of the others children said the same thing. The old coot knows nothing."

Still feeling slightly uneasy, Garbe was at a loss on what to do. Sighing he pulled his pocket watch out and glanced at the time, 7:15 pm. In fifteen minutes his Lord would be summoning the Potter boy, and he had wanted Garbe to attack the castle as soon as possible, so when the time came, and Potter disappeared, in all the chaos no one would notice.

Sighing angrily the Death Eater nodded once, his mind made up. No matter what his gut instinct was telling him, he would always obey his master first. And his master had told him to attack as soon as he could. So that's exactly what they would do.

"Sir?" the Death Eater questioned again sounding a little annoyed because his question wasn't answered the first time, "Do we have your permission to proceed?"

"Yes," Garbe answered briskly, "Listen up," he yelled turning to face the massive army behind him, "It's time. This is the moment we've been anticipating. Our Lord wants us to go in there and show no mercy. Destroy everything and everyone. The children loyal to us have been advised to go to the fourth greenhouse behind the school and wait for us there. Nobody is to touch that particular greenhouse, understood." Murmurs of agreement sounded throughout the crowd. "Good now, let's go!"

The army roared with energy and moved forward as one, walking briskly towards the school in the distance.

Garbe first heard it as they had passed the gamekeepers hut, a faint _ssswipp_ sound followed by a muffled scream and thud. Frowning faintly he continued to lead his men towards the castle picking up his pace just the tiniest bit.

He stopped short when the sound was heard again. Spinning around he looked back at the Death Eaters when he heard their alarmed cries.

"Sir," one panicked dark wizard cried pushing his way up to Garbe, "we lost the vampires and werewolves. One minute they were with us, then the next…just gone. Vanished, sir."

Garbe swore fiercely, "How many?"

The Death Eater sighed, "All of them." He muttered knowing neither Garbe nor his Lord would be pleased with this.

"ALL OF THEM!" Garbe roared, it was all he could do not to whip out his wand and kill the man. "How the hell did one hundred Werewolves and Vampires just…disappear?" he seethed clenching his fists tightly.

The Death Eater by this point had begun to shake in fright, though he tried to hide it. Being a rookie and all he knew Garbe would not hesitate to kill him, if so inclined.

"I don't know…" he said trying to slowly edge his way away from the furious Dark Wizard.

"Well I do," Zabani drawled.

"What are you on about," Garbe snapped spinning on his heel to face the man.

"I believe those are them," Zabani smirked pointing towards the forest; he had never liked Werewolves and Vampires, and had fully disagreed when Voldemort had wanted to bring them into their army. Of course, he had never said this out loud, he didn't have a death wish after all, and openly disagreeing with his Lord would have ensured an early burial.

Garbe followed the direction the man was pointing and felt his mouth drop open in shock. Dozens of large white sacs hung in the trees, some were swaying back in forth as if the things moving inside were trying to escape, while most others remained perfectly still. It wasn't the sacs themselves that shocked Garbe, it was the giant spiders that were dragging said sacs deeper into the forest before returning for more.

Catching movement in the corner of his eye, Garbe quickly glanced in that direction, just in time to see a spider quickly and gracefully wrapping a struggling vampire up in its silken cocoon.

"Bloody Hell," Garbe muttered backing away as the giant spiders all disappeared into the forest, disappearing as quickly as they had come, dragging the cocoons with them. Garbe knew better then to order his men to follow and save as many Werewolves and Vampires as they could, that would just be suicide.

"We move on without them," he roared to the startled Death Eaters as he continued to move away from the forest, "our allies are lost, they no longer exist to us."

The Death Eaters mumbled their understanding beginning to shuffle towards the castle again, a bit more apprehensive. Most knowing that the spider's attacks couldn't have been purely coincidental, as they were too quick and organized to have been a spur of the moment attack.

A startled cry and a curse shot from behind caused Garbe to spin around again, his eyes widening as the giant spiders moved swiftly towards the group again. As the Death Eaters around him started shooting curses left and right, Garbe watched in amazement as the arachnids gracefully dodged the curses. Yelping Garbe threw himself to the ground as a strand of sticky silk shot towards him. He felt the substance graze his head and pass over top of him. Rolling quickly to the side he watched as the Death Eater that had been behind him was yanked off his feet and dragged towards the Spider, the death eater could do nothing but claw at the ground looking for purchase and scream as more silken strands shot out and wrapped themselves around him.

Pushing himself to his feet he ducked behind another Death Eater and began running towards the castle at full speed, shooting a curse over his shoulder every once in a while, and calling out to his men to get to the castle quick.

Stopping so suddenly he nearly fell over, Garbe once again found himself staring in disbelief at the sight before him. Standing between his men and the castle stood rows of Unicorns, Centaurs and a couple other creatures he had never seen before. In front of the small army stood a beautiful black wolf. Garbe took in the wolf's appearance and realized he must be the Fire Wolf Lucius had sequestered many months before, and then lost to Harry Potter.

"Bloody Hell," he whispered again closing his eyes momentarily. Taking a deep breath he ordered his men onwards, telling them to get to the castle or die trying. With his army quickly losing ground Garbe couldn't help but growl angrily; it was obvious to him Dumbledore had known of their attack and was doing a damn good job of counteracting it. His Lord would not be pleased.

* * *

Sorry this post was late guys. But we're nearing the end so let me know what you think. Cheers!


	35. Defeat

I'm so sorry this took so long; a lot of stuff has been going on, and for some reaon i wasn't able to upload this for a couple of days. Anyway here it is. There should only be one or two chapters left. Enjoy and please review.

* * *

Ron Weasley smiled as he watched the Death Eaters battle down below him. The spiders, Unicorns and the various other creatures had lowered the Death Eaters numbers greatly. But there was still a significant number left, and Ron bit his lip as he watched the animals disappear back into the Forbidden forest. Ron could tell a couple of the smaller creatures had lost their lives as well and vowed to honor the creatures after the war.

Taking a deep breath he turned to Hermione and nodded once, "their about to try and enter the castle its time to cue Fred and George,"

Hermione nodded and ran to the other side of the north tower she and Ron were residing in, leaning out the window she made a quick gesture directed at the tower directly across from them. Seeing the returning gesture from the red headed twins she grinned and turned back to Ron with a nod.

Ron chuckled and turned back to watch the show.

* * *

Garbe breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the army retreat back into the Forbidden forest. Cursing he gently held his arm which was still bleeding from when the unicorn had slashed him with its horn.

"Alright, let's keep moving, shall we." Garbe said trying not to show how shaken he really was by the events of the last half hour. 'I hope they don't have any more surprises,' he thought to himself, 'I don't think our forces can handle anymore.' He admitted to himself ruefully before sighing and beginning to lead his men forward for the third time that night.

A huge explosion threw Garbe forward and to the ground. Groaning and twisting his upper body around the Death Eater leader groaned again in dismay.

From above them somewhere, someone was throwing spheres at them causing large explosions wherever they hit the ground. Straining his ears Garbe could just make out the uproarious laughter of two boys coming from the tower just above them.

Garbe growled angrily as he watched his men dance around trying to escape the onslaught of pellets showering them with explosions large enough to badly maim or kill them.

Panic ensued as the dark wizards dodged the bombs and made a desperate dash toward the castles main doors and the safety of the entrance hall beyond them, all the while throwing every curse they could think of at their unseen assailants.

* * *

Above the panicking mass of Death Eaters, Fred and George Weasley laughed uproariously as they watched the group scramble about like chickens with their heads cut off.

When Ron had first approached the boys for their help a couple days ago, they had been ecstatic to show the young red head some of their newest products they thought might be of use. The spheres they were throwing now were based on the muggle invention called bombs. Luckily, since time was short, Ron had gathered many volunteers for the twins who would help them build their arsenal and the boys couldn't be prouder of how much the group had accomplished in just a few days.

The boys looked to each other and grinned, before reaching for another box full of similar looking spheres, these spheres were blue however, while the first batch had been gold. They had saved these for last, waited until some of the Death Eaters had been killed before pulling theses out. It was time for a little fun.

* * *

"Get over here!" Garbe roared as he waited for the rest of his group to reach the front doors to the castle. Nearly half of his Death Eaters had been taken out and all the vampires and werewolves were long gone. Garbe wanted desperately to call a retreat, but he knew of the consequences his lord would bestow if he left now.

Once the rest of his army was nestled against the wall, their foes no longer had a clear shot at them. Thus, the wary and beaten down Death Eaters were provided some protection and a couple moments to recuperate.

Seething in anger at how greatly their army had been diminished, Garbe waited in silence for the explosions to stop. Once they had ended and the grounds were silent once again he spun around to face the Death Eater next to him.

"I thought you said Dumbledore didn't know we were coming." Garbe snarled.

"Blaise said everything was normal, how was I to know…" Zabani snapped defensively before Garbe cut him off.

"I HAVE NO TIMES FOR FOOLS LIKE YOU!" the irate Death Eater roared spittle flying from his mouth as his eyes shone with insanity. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The others watched in shock as Garbe killed Zabani and slowly edged away from the irate man.

"Do you fools think this is a game!" the man roared. The others were certain they heard a note of underlined fear in his voice as he waved his arms insanely, "Have you any idea what the Dark Lord is going to do to us if we fail! A fate worse then death. When we get in there I want nothing to survive, do you understand. Not even the god damn cats, rats and owls!"

"Yes sir!" the army roared a little shaken by their intense leader and what had happened to Zabani and the rest of the army.

"It's pretty obvious that old **_coot_** knew we were coming," Garbe said calming down a little, realizing killing his already limited number of men was not the brightest thing to do. "We should be cautious when entering the castle; they probably have more **_surprises_** waiting for us inside."

The other Death Eaters murmured their agreement, many of them nursing their wounds, and wondering what else was in store for them.

Garbe was about to order his men onward when movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

He tensed and followed the blue spheres with unwavering eyes as they fell from the sky and landed a few feet away from them. Watching curiously as the spheres bounced harmlessly onto the ground. He had thought they would explode upon contact like the others had but the balls remained still and unmoving.

"See what they are!" he ordered the rookie recruit next to him shoving him forward. Garbe knew those spheres were meant to do something and knowing how his night had been going it obviously couldn't be good, he wasn't stupid, after all.

"Y-yes sir," Stafford muttered stumbling forward slightly before regaining his balance and cautiously making his way out into the open, pausing just briefly to make sure the boys above had finished throwing them.

Tilting his head in curiosity the Death Eater knelt on the ground and slowly reached toward the sphere prodding it with his trembling wand. In retrospect he should have realized this was not the smartest thing to do, but Stafford wasn't the smartest guy in the world anyway. Besides his superior had ordered him to identify the spheres, and he had learned early on to _never_ disobey a direct order, for it would be the last thing he would ever do.

Yelping, the rookie jumped as the sphere exploded in a shower of bright yellow sparks. Scuttling backwards quickly he gaped in awe as the electricity amazingly formed into a person.

Pushing himself back onto his feet the 18 year old tilted his head and reached forward as if to touch the glowing man. Hissing lightly as one of the sparks that made up the man's body zinged through his finger, Stafford shook out his hand, it never occurring to him that this 'man' could hurt him.

Chuckling, mostly to himself, Stafford turned back to the army of anxious Death Eaters and smirked. "Nothing but toys, sir. a parlor trick..." He called, "probably just meant to distract us…"

But Stafford was unable to finish his report as his body suddenly erupted in violent convulsions, before collapsing to the ground, the stench of burnt flesh filling the air around his dead body.

Garbe watched in shocked horror as the man made of electricity removed his hand from inside Stafford, causing the mans body to drop to the ground.

Sputtering in fear as he watched the other sphere's erupt and form more of the 'men', creating an army of two dozen, he ordered his men to attack.

"Sir," one of the senior Death Eaters said a minute later as he threw every spell he knew at the appraoching 'men', "Our spells are having no effect! What should we do?"

"Run," Garbe breathed staring in dismay as the other army suddenly pulled bows and arrows, made out of the same electricity the men themselves were made of, out of thin air.

One arrow struck the Death Eater next to Garbe and he watched as the man was electrocuted, and ultimately killed, his body still convulsing slightly even after death.

"Into the castle," Garbe roared fumbling with the large doors leading into the entrance hall. Finally yanking them open he and the remaining Death Eaters stumbled in ducking the onslaught of arrows and spears being thrown by the army.

Garbe and the others let out a startled cry as the floor suddenly gave away and they fell into a pit landing on something soft, and to Garbe's horror, something that was moving.

Yelping Garbe tried desperately to free himself from the plant now wrapping around his body. Suddenly he realized that the thing they had landed on was Devil's snare, and panicking would only make him sink faster, he froze in place and snapped at the others to do the same.

"Devil's snare hates light, a simple spell," he began before snapping his mouth shut.

The other Death Eaters followed his gaze upward and gaped. Above them a circle of people stood, their wands pointed downward, cold expressions on their face. There had to be at least two or three hundred of the them.

"Drop your wands," Professor Dumbledore snapped his wand twitching slightly as if he were anxious to use it.

Garbe groaned, the battle had ended here. The light side had been prepared for them and had totally destroyed their army without breaking a sweat, and to his disgust, without even firing a spell at them. The Death Eater glanced at the few men he had left and up to the light army standing above them. He knew they had no chance.

Garbe did something then, the first smart decision of his life, he dropped his wand and raised his hands in defeat. Watching as the others followed his example, he only hoped his lord was having an easier job with Potter.

* * *

I know some of you would have probably wanted the battle to be fought in the more traditional way wizard/wizard but I was wanting to do something different. I like the way it turned out and to be honest I wouldn't change a thing. We've all read the epic battle scenes and whilst entertaining I was keen on changing it up a little. Cheers!


	36. In the Graveyard

Meanwhile…

Harry Potter grunted as he hit the ground hard. One minute he had been waiting with Ron and Hermione as they watched the Death Eaters be overrun by Aragog and his children, the next he was in a graveyard. The very same graveyard he had believed Voldemort would wish to fight him in.

Looking down he saw the marble headstone he wished never to see again: Tom Riddle. Sighing, Harry tiredly rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, before straightening up and glancing around with unfeeling determination.

He had a job to do: the world was depending on him to kill Voldemort and restore its balance. After all that what's a Mystic Knight does: restore the balance between good and evil, by defeating those out to destroy it.

But Harry wasn't doing this for the world, no; the pressure would be tremendous if he were to do that. He would fight for only a select few: the Weasley's, Dumbledore, Sirius, Lupin, his friends and, of course, Jessica and Greg. He would fight for them and their right to live in a world without Voldemort and his 'merry men'.

A slight movement caught his eye. Glancing discreetly to his right he saw that Jessica and Draco had arrived and were hidden behind a giant statue of a grotesque angle. Seeing Jessica's subtle nod and reassuring smile, Harry felt his stomach do flip-flops, as it often did when he saw Jessica's smile. He vowed to himself, that when this was over he would tell her exactly how he felt.

"Ahhh, Mister Potter, nice of you to join me." The cold cruel voice of Lord Voldemort resounded through the vast graveyard, bouncing off the many tombs. Making it impossible to determine where it came from.

"I didn't have much of a choice," Harry replied sounding nervous. Although his nervousness was mostly just an act, Harry had to admit he was a little anxious about the upcoming battle; a lot was riding on the outcome after all.

Voldemort chuckled cruelly stepping from inside the large crypt across from Harry and into view of the Gryffindor. Watching the scared boy try to muster up an intimidating glare, Voldemort barked out another laugh.

"Are we ready to begin?" a deep growl questioned from behind Voldemort.

Glancing into the crypt Harry frowned, 'Am-hem,' he thought. Squinting Harry found the voice had come from a large fully cloaked figure in the far corner. "Who are you? What's going on here?"

"Silence!" Voldemort snarled.

"Now, now," the huge man cast in shadows chided, never moving an inch, "don't lose your temper, it makes you sloppy."

"I don't have time for this," Harry snapped trying to get the men back on course, "Hogwarts is being attacked and I need to help them."

"Hogwarts will be destroyed before you can even get back there Potter. Even though those pesky Mystic Knights killed my giants, I still have a sizeable army left and their probably torturing all your little friends right now." Voldemort said maliciously a smirk adorning his face.

Feeling a slight warmth against his chest Harry grinned, much to Voldemort's bemusement, and reached up to pull the necklace he was wearing off. Looking at the galleon on the end of the chain he grinned again as he saw it was bright red.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Tom." Harry laughed tossing the necklace in the air and catching it again, now that he knew Hogwarts was safe he didn't need to pretend any longer.

"What are you on about, Potter?" The snakelike man hissed trying to keep his anger under control.

"I've just been informed that your army has lost. See this?" he questioned holding the, still glowing, galleon up to eye level, " Hermione Granger enchanted it so that when she tapped her own galleon twice, mine would warm up and glow red. It was a system we devised to let me know when your army had been defeated. Pretty clever, uh?" he chuckled slightly mockingly.

Voldemort was seeing red. Taking calming breath's Voldemort clenched his fists, and reined in his temper. "Why should I believe you Potter, this is just one of your pathetic attempts to distract me," he hissed.

"You don't believe me?" Harry questioned putting his necklace back on and shrugging, "fine, you'll realize the truth sooner or later."

Deciding to humor the boy he called for Lucius, turning to watch as his inner circle revealed themselves and stood off to the right, just in front of the angel Draco and Jessica were still behind.

"Yes my Lord?" the familiar drawl came from Voldemort's right.

Turning blood red eyes to his follower, Voldemort ordered him to check on his army's progress at the castle.

"We'll get this out of the way so that we may duel. Once I prove your lying their will be no more distractions, Potter." He smirked, triumphantly, as if he had already been proven right.

A few minutes later an ashen faced Lucius Malfoy returned, moving toward his Lord he spoke quietly with the Dark wizard.

"WHAT!" Voldemort roared lashing out violently, striking the man in the face and knocking him to the ground. Spinning to glare at Harry, "How did you know we were going to attack?" he snarled clenching his fists again his magic beginning to pulse through the air around Harry and the Death Eaters.

Harry smirked purposefully trying to get the man angry, "I've known about the attack for a couple weeks, we had plenty of time to prepare. Which means," he smiled innocently, "we also knew about my upcoming duel with you."

"Which of my _loyal _Death Eaters told you?" Voldemort spat looking calm and under control, but Harry could see the man's red eyes blazing with anger and insanity.

Harry didn't have a chance to respond for at that moment Draco chose to step calmly into view, "I told him," the boy said coldly, his face expressionless, but his eyes sparkled with defiance.

Lucius paled as Voldemort shot the man a furious look.

"Draco," his father growled, "why?"

"Because it's what Mother would have wanted," Draco replied coldly pulling out his wand.

"Kill him Lucius, or you will regret it." Voldemort said before turning calmly back to Harry, his anger beginning to bubble up to the surface. "It is time, Potter, for our duel."

Harry said nothing as he readied himself for the upcoming battle, posing himself in the well known duel position.

"Scared, Potter?" the Dark Lord questioned ignoring the sounds of battle behind him as he erected a powerful shield to keep the Death Eaters and the spells flying about behind him out.

Harry glared before calmly responding with, "You wish."

"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled a flash of scarlet light shooting from his wand towards Voldemort.

"Protego," Voldemort replied sounding bored as he easily shielded himself from Harry's attack. "Is that all you got, Potter!" he taunted smirking.

Harry fought to keep the grin off his face, 'I just got started,' he thought shooting a series of different hexes, curses and charms towards the snakelike man in quick succession.

Voldemort blocked or dodged them all quite easily and was starting to get smug once again, thinking to himself this battle was going to be easier then he had anticipated.

A well placed reductor curse had Harry diving behind the large tombstone next to him. Shaking his head to clear the dust and debris from his hair, courtesy of the now badly damaged tombstone, he decided it was time to bring out the heavy artillery. With a brilliant flash of light Harry transformed into his Mystic Knight attire and rolled out from behind the tombstone a millisecond before it was blasted into oblivion by Voldemort. Springing back onto his feet and taking a dueling stance he couldn't help but smirk behind his mask at the gob smacked look that flashed across Voldemort's face before hiding behind the usually expressionless mark the dark wizard wore.

"Well Potter, it would seem you've been holding out on me," he hissed narrowing his eyes, "this should be interesting."

* * *

As Harry and Voldemort were dueling so were Draco and Lucius.

"You disappoint me, son." Lucius growled clutching his arm, it had been hit by a bludgeoning curse only moments before and was now broken in two places. "I thought you had more sense then to side with, _Potter._ You should have stuck with the winning side." He snarled before shooting a flurry of hexes towards his son.

Draco panted as he expertly dodged or blocked the curses the way Jessica and Harry had shown him, all the while moving closer to his father with every dodge. Once close enough he ducked under his fathers arm and brought his fist up in a powerful upwards thrust striking the man brutally on the chin.

Lucius staggered back but did not drop his wand, swinging back to face Draco he came to a halt as his eyes focused on the wand now starring him right in the face.

"Drop it," Draco demanded coolly as he saw his fathers hand twitch the wand moving ever so slightly right now his wand was pointed at Draco's legs, "Now!" he snarled when the man made no move to do so.

Sneering ever so slightly the man dropped his arm down by his side but refused to let go of his wand. "Could you really do it, Draco? Kill your own father as if I was nothing more then some common _muggle_."

"You killed your wife," Draco growled, "my mother, I hardly see the difference."

Lucius blinked and raised an eyebrow, "Is that what has you so upset? Is that why you joined with Potter, to avenge your mother?" he smirked viciously, "she disobeyed me and challenged my authority, she knew the punishment for that."

"Mother didn't deserve to die, especially not at the hands of a coward like you." The young Slytherin snarled, "The way you beg for mercy and bend over backwards to do V-Voldemort's bidding disgusts me and makes me ashamed of the name Malfoy."

It was all Lucius could do to keep his rage in check, 'how dare this boy insult him' he thought savagely, his hand tightening around his wand.

"What about you? Joining Potter in hopes he'll protect you, you favor the wrong side Draco, which you'll learn when the Dark Lord destroys Potter and all those that oppose him."

A flash of light out of the corner of his eye caught Draco's attention, glancing over he smirked as he saw Harry transform and step out to meet Voldemort.

Unfortunately, Lucius used his son's momentary distraction against him and before the Slytherin knew it he was knocked to the ground with his father standing triumphantly over him. Not tearing his eyes away from Lucius' wand Draco grasped blindly for his own, only to find it missing.

Draco closed his eyes after he saw his father wave his own wand mockingly in the air in front of him. He cursed himself for forgetting the number one rule of dueling: always be aware of what's going on around you but never allow even a moment of distraction for it could prove fatal. Jessica had taught him and the others that the very first day. Draco's heart broke as he realized he wouldn't be able to avenge his mother, and that he had let his new friends down.

"What's the matter Draco, not so tough now, eh?" Lucius mocked stuffing his son's wand in his pocket. "Beg me for your life and for forgiveness from the Dark Lord. Who knows, after his defeat of Potter he might just be in a charitable mood and won't torture you? Well not too badly anyways."

Draco sneered in disgust as his father snickered. Glancing slightly to his left he saw Jessica finishing off the last Death Eater in her group. She looked a little worse for wear but alive none the less.

The young Slytherin put a stop to any humor his father had been feeling, "Kill me if you must, but _Harry_ will destroy your _precious _Voldemort, and when he does he'll come after you, his last standing loyal Death Eater." Draco chuckled dryly, "think you can take on him and the entire light army by yourself? My only wish is to be around when you're finally brought to your knees."

Lucius Malfoy's face was red in anger and annoyance, "What are you talking about, Draco?" he questioned coolly, "Our army may have been defeated but the Dark Lord still has his most faithful followers to rely on." He stated, gesturing to the right where the other ten or eleven members of the Inner Circle had been moments before. Had he bothered to actually look he would have noticed the only one left standing was being stunned and bound by a Mystic Knight right at that moment.

Draco smirked, "oh really," he drawled, "are you sure of that?"

Lucius hesitated, it took all his will power to not remove his eyes from his son and glance in his companions' direction. It was in this slight hesitation that he realized the only sounds he now heard were those coming from his leader and Harry Potter.

Unable to resist any longer his eyes slid towards his right, just in time to see a white blur about to tackle him. He fired off a cutting curse and smirked in satisfaction as it connected with the persons arm, slicing a long deep gash all the way down their arm. Unfortunately the individual had been too close and the gash did nothing to stop their momentum. Lucius cursed as the body slammed into his and knocked him too the ground, crying out when he landed on his already broken arm.

* * *

Jessica grunted in pain as she crashed into the ground. Executing a roll she was able to get back to her feet and kick the wand out of Lucius' hand. Smiling grimly she watched as the newly risen Draco retrieved his own wand from his fathers pocket and pointed it steadily at the injured man.

"You ok?"

Although Draco's eyes were fixed solely on his father, Jessica knew he had been talking to her.

"I'm ok, the cuts too deep to heal myself though, so I'll have to wait until we're back at the castle."

Draco nodded once still watching as his father turned to sneer at him.

"Well Draco, you have me where you want me, what now?" Lucius drawled a slight smirk finding its way to his face.

Draco thought about this. Now that he had his father at his mercy he wondered if he could really kill him. The death, deceit and torture he had surrounded himself with these last months were exactly what his mother had been fighting to keep him away from, what she had lost her life for. And although she might have approved of his involvement with spying for the light side, there was no way she ever would have wanted him to kill anyone.

"The choice is yours Draco," Jessica reminded him softly placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Her reassurance was all the Slytherin needed as he stood a little straighter, his decision made. Crossing the foot to his father he placed the tip of his wand against the man's head, his eyes full of grim satisfaction.

Fear crept into Lucius' eyes as he felt the wand against his head; he hadn't thought Draco could do it.

"Are you going to kill me?"

Draco was pleased to hear the slight tremor in the cruel man's voice.

"She wouldn't have wanted me too," he said coldly, "that's the only reason you're still alive." Casting a quick stunner at the man before he changed his mind Draco then bound him and turned back to Jessica. There was one more duel that needed to be finished before they could leave.

* * *

Well one more chapter to go guys (and gals). It's been a long time coming I admit but I want to thank everyone that stuck with this story and I hope you enjoyed it. I did borrow a couple lines so I should point out they don't belong to me. The last line from Draco was from the 'Bourne Supremacy' and thought it would be a good ending to the chapter. And anyone who's seen the second movie should remember the line from the dueling scene. Cheers!


	37. Final battle

"My, this is interesting," Voldemort hissed breathing heavily as he covered a long gash on his abdomen from a well placed cutting curse and circled Harry warily, "you've been practicing, I see. No matter, my power still greatly exceeds yours."

Harry smirked behind his metallic mask as he took the moment free of battle to recuperate slightly. He was bleeding and panting heavily but well off all the same.

"Your power _may_ exceed mine," Harry said not sounding like he believed it but was humoring Voldemort anyways, "but I could beat you in armed combat any day of the week." He drawled pompously, doing an excellent impression of Percy, Ron's older brother.

"I'll have you know Potter; I am a champion in that area and have collected many trophies over the years." Voldemort snarled his eyes flashing a bright red as his anger and power threatened to explode forth.

Harry cocked an eyebrow as he chuckled to himself; he had Voldemort right where he wanted him. The other wizard's own arrogance would prove to be his downfall.

"Sure," he started cheekily, "maybe when you were younger, _old man_, but why don't you leave sword fighting to me. After all, I fear your age has probably slowed your reaction time. Not to mention I don't think you could even pick up a sword anymore."

Harry knew, in fact, that not only could Voldemort pick up a sword but he was actually very advanced in the art, as Jessica had told him a while ago when she had fought him in the Forbidden forest. But with all their recent training Harry was sure he was an even match for the powerful wizard.

Voldemort's power was coming off him in waves as he clenched his fists and struggled to rein it in. Tombstones shattered sending debris every which way, flowers that had been placed on the graves around them wilted and died and dark thunder clouds formed in the sky above them throwing bolts of lightning around with great force as if hurled by Zeus himself.

Harry caught himself before he took a step back. The power Voldemort was exuding was intimidating but Harry knew he had to stand firm and not show the snake-like man he was unsettled. Glancing ever so quickly to his right he was relieved to see Jessica and Draco were not harmed by the sudden display of power.

"Really Potter, you think you have any chance against an experienced fighter like me?" Voldemort sneered, with a flick of his wrist his wand lengthened and sharpened into a beautiful looking sword. Its long gleaming blade was made of silver with golden runes decorating it. Its hilt was black with two emerald snakes twisting up it, their crimson eyes glowing slightly.

'Wow,' Harry thought staring at the sword in awe, 'it's beautiful.'

As if he knew exactly what Harry was thinking, Voldemort smirked and ran a finger almost reverently along the blade. "I made her myself Potter, took me two years to fully craft her." He explained as Harry pulled his own sword. "She's killed many, but her thirst for blood is insatiable, and what she longs for most is your blood, Potter." Holding the sword in front of him he took a fighting stance, "let's not make her wait any longer then she has too."

Harry smiled grimly and deactivated his mask so that he and Voldemort could duel face to face. Harry raised his own sword and twirled it expertly once before adopting his own stance, ready for battle.

No one moved. The silence in the graveyard was so profound for a moment Harry had feared he had gone suddenly deaf. Am-hem had still not moved from his spot in the shadows and Harry was beginning to wonder if he really was there. Jessica and Draco were standing silently at the edge of the shield that surrounded him and Voldemort, offering unspoken encouragement. And he and Voldemort remained rooted to their spots each waiting for the other to attack first.

A huge rumble of thunder broke through the silence, followed instantaneously by a lightning bolt striking the ground between the two combatants.

Harry and Voldemort both leapt toward each other at once, as if the lightning had signaled the beginning of their battle.

Their blades clashed with a flurry of blows so fierce sparks flew. Each man threw everything they had at each other their muscles working overtime as they struggled against the others strength.

Harry ducked a strike aimed at his neck and retaliated with one to Voldemort's stomach. The dark wizard swung his own sword just in time to stop the blade from impaling him.

Harry dropped to the ground and somersaulted; popping up behind Voldemort he kicked him and sent him tumbling forward. Following quickly he tried to once more to pierce the dark wizard's torso but Voldemort had already recovered and expertly dodged the attack bringing the hilt of his sword down onto Harry's back as he stumbled forward.

Harry dropped to the ground with a grunt barely managing to roll to the side to avoid the swift kick aimed at his head. Pushing himself to his feet Harry once again threw himself at Voldemort; 'after all,' he thought, 'a good offence is the best defense.'

Their blades clashed again and again as their blows became more and more viscous. The two were ducking and blocking intricately as if they were dancing a beautiful, but deadly dance.

The fighting seemed to go on for hours, both opponents were tiring but neither had become sloppy, for they knew should they err it could mean their death.

Harry knew they had been dueling for only an hour when he finally managed to gain the upper hand. A particularly violent swipe and miss from Voldemort had him over extending himself causing him to stumble slightly. Harry, seeing his advantage, quickly crouched to the ground and swept the dark wizards' legs from under him, sending the snake-like man sprawling to the ground.

Standing quickly, Harry brought his foot down brutally on Voldemorts hand causing him to lose grip of his sword allowing Harry to firmly kick it away from the downed man. The dark wizard's sword retuned to its original state as his wand and remained motionless a few feet from them. Then raising his sword he placed the tip of the blade onto Voldemort's chest and pressed down slightly.

The maneuver had taken less then a few seconds and Voldemort looked slightly surprised at the turn of events as he stared at the sword pointing directly over where his heart should be, then back up to the angry fifteen year old who had bested him.

Harry was at first surprised by what had happened but quickly shook himself out of it and focused on the task at hand. Greg said it was vital to their own principles, and the policy of the Mystic Knight, to tell the dark beings they needed to kill the reason behind it, and give said dark wizard a chance to repent his sins before death. Harry seriously doubted Voldemort would be the least regretful but honored the Mystic Knight code all the same.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle, you have been found guilty of many heinous crimes including, murder and torture of other wizards and of people who had no chance in defending themselves against you, namely muggles. You are also guilty of forming an army of wizards to kill all those oppose you. Many more crimes, that I do not have time to list, have been committed by yourself and those who follow you. By the regulations of the Mystic Knights this warrants your death and I will carry out the sentence. Have you anything to say?"

Voldemort sneered angrily, although Harry detected a hint of fear in the old wizards eyes, "I regret nothing," he snapped knowing this was the time he was supposed to repent, "I was merely doing what needed to be done. This world is better off without those filthy people. Even if you kill me more wizards will rise to take my place. Trust me, Potter eventually all those filthy muggles and mudbloods will be wiped from our world."

Harry frowned lightly, he had expected this, "Your opinion of muggles is biased" Harry stated coldly, "Not all muggles are like your father Tom, nor are they all like my Uncle."

Voldemort continued to glare at Harry; he said nothing more.

Harry raised his sword and brought it back down swiftly plunging it into the mans chest. Mumbling a spell quietly Harry watched with indifference as the man screamed in pain and fear. A golden light was spreading from the blade still in Voldemorts chest and moving along his body covering the withering man in its glow.

Suddenly ghostly figures exploded from the man's wand that lay a few feet from them. Harry watched smiling lightly as all the souls of the people Voldemort had ever killed were freed from the man clutches. Dozens of voices called their thanks as they were finally able to escape their purgatory and move on.

Harry had to stifle a sob when his parents emerged. They stayed just long enough to tell him how proud they were of him and that they loved him, before they too followed the others moving towards the heavens.

Minutes later the figures stopped and Harry turned his attention back to the pale man still impaled on his sword.

Voldemort sucked in his last breath before he too exploded in a burst of black and golden light. The force of the explosion threw Harry, Jessica and Draco back several feet.

Harry groaned as he pushed himself to his knees, his back aching considerably from where he had smashed into the angel Draco and Jessica had been hiding behind earlier. He had done it, Voldemort was gone, and Harry was positive he would not return this time. Tears gathered in Harry's eyes; it was over. He had avenged his parents as well as all those that died needlessly at the cruel man's hands.

A gentle hand was place on his shoulder and he looked up to see a worried Jessica and Draco. He placed his hand over Jessica's and allowed the girl to help him to his feet.

"You did it," she whispered.

"We did it," he corrected.

Suddenly she smiled and pulled Harry into a hug laughing lightly, "I knew you could do it!"

Harry grinned against her neck as he hugged her back. Glancing at Draco he reached over and pulled the other boy into their hug. The three of them stayed that way for a few minutes each thankful that they had all made it out of the battle alive and that Voldemort's rein of terror had finally come to an end.

They only broke apart when Am-hem decided to address them.

"Nicely done, Mr. Potter,"

Harry let go of Jessica and Draco and all three turned to face the god.

"You don't seem too upset that Voldemort lost." He stated raising a curious eyebrow.

"Why would I care, he had merely called upon my services, he had his tasks and he failed the last one it is of no concern to me. There will always be others. Congratulations on your win, Mr. Potter, you fought well. Maybe we shall meet again." Then without a backwards glance the large cloaked figure turned and disappeared.

Harry and the others stared after him for a moment before Harry threw his arms over Jessica and Draco's shoulders.

"Come on," he said lightly, "we better get back to Hogwarts."

Draco nodded, "first there's one more thing we need to collect."

Harry and Jessica followed the Slytherin back to where he had left Lucius bound and stunned.

Grabbing the mans hand Harry place the mans finger to the portkey he had pulled from his pocket, waiting until Jessica and Draco had touched the old piece of parchment before he whispered the activation key.

* * *

The battle's over. And Harry has won. What did you guy's think. Please R&R. Oh, by the way, I do have an epilogue written if anyone is interested. Cheers!


	38. Epilouge

Two months later….

With the defeat of Voldemort, the wizarding world had celebrated for weeks. But no party had been as loud or wonderful as the one Dumbledore had organized the night after Harry, Jessica and Draco had returned. Parents of most of the children had shown up and the Great Hall had to be expanded to three times its normal size to accommodate everyone. That party had lasted well into the next day and would have continued had it not been for the teacher's sending everyone off to bed. The students were reluctant to go at first but when Dumbledore reminded them of their exams next week, had all reluctantly done as they were told.

Snape had been released from the Chamber of Secrets and although most of the school still hated him, they had come to respect him after they had learned the truth. Most people were glad to see him alive and well. Sirius was not included amongst those people, he had looked horrified when Snape had suddenly appeared at the party that night after Harry and Jessica had snuck out to retrieve him.

The Slytherins who had been in working with Voldemort and his Death Eaters had, of course, been expelled; their wands had been snapped and taken back to London immediately. Harry thought this was a fitting punishment. Without their wands and the finishing of their education, they would have to live as muggles. 'Ah, poetic justice,' he had thought with a grin.

All the death eaters had been interrogated and moved to Azkaban, many, including Lucius Malfoy, had been given the Dementors kiss. The ones who had not received the kiss were mostly newer recruits and wizards who had done less heinous things then the others.

Draco had asked Harry to go with him and Snape the day of his father's arraignment. Harry had watched with silent support as the trail proceeded and the Kiss was administered, after which the Slytherin had thanked him for coming and proceeded to tell Harry he would be living with Professor Snape. It turned out the Potions master was Draco's Godfather.

The Daily Prophet had used an entire issue to print the story. Harry, Draco, Ron, Hermione and Jessica had sat down with Rita Skeeter and proceeded to tell her everything. Well almost everything, Harry and the others had left out the fact that he and Jessica were Mystic Knights. But everything else including how they had saved Professor Snape's life and how Voldemort had met his demise were included.

When Rita had asked how Harry had known how to duel with a sword he had merely stated a friend had taught him in case he should ever lose his wand during battle at least he wouldn't be defenseless.

But Harry had underestimated the wisdom of the wizarding people and soon enough the whole wizarding world was convinced he was indeed the Mystic Knight that had been seen at Hogwarts those few months ago. Eventually Harry was forced to make a public statement admitting that fact, Jessica had stood next to him and 'outed' herself as well, unwilling to allow Harry to face the people alone.

'After all,' she had said, 'they're going to find out sooner or later.'

After the announcement of their true identities Harry and Jessica had had to endure a burst of questions from the crowd. Harry had quickly interrupted the tirade stating it went against their code to tell them anything, he also pointed out they shouldn't bother asking anything further because they had nothing left to say, after that he and Jessica promptly left the stage.

After awhile the novelty of the Mystic Knight died down and Harry and Jessica were able to walk down Diagon Alley again without being bombarded by cameras and people eager to talk to them. Harry knew they would never be truly left alone, but he was relieved when things went almost back to normal with only the occasional gasp, whisper and point to his scar. He was also relieved to notice that Jessica seemed to hate the attention as much as he did.

"You OK?" s soft voice questioned.

Harry blinked and shook himself from his thoughts of the past. Smiling he turned to Jessica who was gazing at him worriedly.

"I'm fine," he answered squeezing her hand, "Just thinking about the past few months."

She chuckled and leaned back on the Weasley's couch turning to watch Ron trounce Hermione in a game of Wizard's chess, "they have been rather eventful," she admitted before turning mischievous eyes to her boyfriend, "especially the night you met my parents." She teased a beautiful smile adorning her face.

Harry blushed and groaned, "I was trying not to think of that thank you very much," he glared half heartedly at her. "Why do you insist on bringing it up?" although he sounded it Harry wasn't really annoyed. He would mention the incident himself just to see her smile like that.

"Because it's funny," she replied resting her head on his shoulder.

"You never did tell us what happened," a new voice interrupted their conversation. It was Ron; he had just finished his game with Hermione and had overheard the pair's conversation. He had asked Harry a few times but the boy had refused to answer, Ron had not been able to get anything from Jessica either.

Harry rolled his eyes and grumbled, "And I never will."

"Oh come on, Harry," Hermione pleaded joining the conversation.

Harry sighed and looked around at the eager faces staring at him in the Weasley's family room. Fred and George glanced up at the trio from across the room; they had been playing exploding snap when they heard the subject matter of their conversation. Harry could tell they were interested in the answer as well. Ginny and Draco who had been studying in front of the fireplace also voiced their interests.

Harry sighed again, "Alright," there was a flurry of movement as his friends all left their places and sat on the floor in front of him, it reminded Harry of children gathering around their teacher for story time.

_FLASHBACK_

_Harry nervously fidgeted with the sleeve of his robes as he and Jessica walked up a pathway leading to a nice looking two story home in. Harry was more nervous then he had ever been in his life, including all the times he had met Voldemort, today he was going to be having dinner with his girlfriend's parents, and Harry couldn't help but feeling he would rather face Voldemort again._

_Despite his nervousness Harry couldn't help but smile the way he always did when someone, or he himself, mentioned Jessica as being his girlfriend. When he had first admitted his feelings for her it had been the night of the great party, he day after he had defeated Voldemort. He had been terrified of what she would say but had been both ecstatic and relieved when she had not only not slapped him silly, but seemed to return his feelings as well._

_So that's where Harry found himself now, he and Jessica had been dating a little over a month and a half, and her parents had insisted on meeting him, so Harry had agreed to have dinner with them._

"_Relax Harry," Jessica ordered as they reached the front door, "you can do this. I've already told my parents all about you and they insisted on meeting you. They'll love you, trust me."_

_Harry smiled a little hesitantly and took Jessica's hand accepting a quick kiss from the girl, although he didn't look any more reassured…_

"Blimey Harry, cut the mushy stuff and get to the good stuff." Ron interrupted exasperatedly. "What?" he questioned when he saw the dirty looks thrown at him by the rest of the occupants of the room.

"Honestly Ronald," Hermione snapped cuffing him on the back of his head, "Please continue Harry."

Harry chuckled, "Alright, I'll skip to the dinner…"

_FLASHBACK_

_The initial introductions went as well as could be expected. Harry had been proud of himself when he met her parents with a calm and pleasant demeanor as they met in the living room that night._

_Harry thought dinner, however, could have gone much better. It started off pleasant enough the four had sat down and conversation had flowed pleasantly through the appetizers but when the main course had arrived disaster struck._

_Harry had just taken his second bite of his steak and kidney pie when a large crack from his right side startled him. His nerves already being on edge caused the young man to yelp and accidentally fling his piece of pie halfway across the table and into a candlestick. The table cloth immediately caught on fire as the candlestick he had hit fell over, he watched horrified as in no time the entire table was lit._

_Jessica and her parents had immediately jumped back from the table and were trying to drench the flames with their wands or in Jessica's case her hand. Harry knew she was using wandless magic because Hogwarts didn't allow students to perform magic outside of school until they were seventeen._

_The flames were getting bigger now and were spreading along the floor towards the walls. Harry was panicking and did the first thing he thought of throwing his hand in the air he yelled "_**Pluvial procella".**

_Lightning flashed once on the dining room ceiling and a rain cloud formed, seconds later torrents of rain pelted down towards them and the flames soaking everything. Wind whipped about nearly knocking the four stunned people off their feet. Harry noticing the flames had dissipated quickly ended the spell._

_Groaning Harry plopped onto the ground and buried his extremely red face in his hands unable to believe that in a matter of seconds he had managed to destroy his girlfriend's dining room. _

_Jessica and her parent's couldn't believe what they were seeing; their dining room now looked as though a monsoon had hit it. The entire room was drenched, not to mention themselves, the chairs and table had been thrown into the wall by the strong winds, and the curtains were now tattered and hanging onto their frames by mere threads._

_Jessica was able to shake her self out of her stupor when she heard Harry groan again. Moving next to him she dropped to her knees in front of him and tried desperately to keep her amusement from showing. Gently reaching out she pulled her embarrassed boyfriend into a hug and said, "At least the flames are out."_

_End FLASHBACK_

Harry glared at his friends as they roared in laughter. Many had tears forming in their eyes as they struggled to control their mirth.

Jessica was grinning broadly and nudged Harry gently, "Lighten up Harry, you have to admit it was kind of funny."

Harry snorted, "Oh yeah absolutely hilarious," his voice dripping with sarcasm Harry huffed and turned away as his friends laughed even harder. He wasn't really angry and he was having a hard time keeping the smile off his face.

It took several minutes for the others to calm down and when they had George spoke, "So what happened next?"

Harry sighed and grinned lightly, "Well as you can imagine I apologized profusely for the next couple of minutes. They were actually taking the whole thing pretty well and seemed more amused then angry. I helped repair the damage and we decided that since all the food was destroyed we would go out for dinner. The rest of the night went pretty well and I didn't cause any more mayhem."

Still chuckling Draco asked, "What was the thing that had startled you?"

Jessica laughed as Harry blushed and answered, "Jessica's house elf,"

The group roared with laughter again this time Harry joined in.

"Well, I'm glad you're all having such fun in here but I need to steal Harry and Jessica away for a while." A voice called from their right.

Harry turned and grinned as he saw Greg standing in the doorway.

"Hey Greg, what's up?" Jessica questioned standing all laughter gone as she noticed his serious expression.

"You're needed in Egypt," he answered as Harry stood and he and Jessica moved to stand with him. "Apparently someone accidentally released an ancient creature from one of the most guarded tombs. The creature has been traveling the desert and destroying any towns it comes across hundreds have been killed already and the Minister of Magic down there had been calling for help from all over the world. I want you two down there as well."

Harry and Jessica nodded seriously and immediately powered up. Then nodding once more to Greg and calling a goodbye to their friends they shimmered away, ready to do all they could to help. After all, they were Mystic Knights, sworn to protect and aid anyone who needed them and that was exactly what they would do.

* * *

It's finally finished! I want to thank everyone for their awesome reviews and thank those who suck with the story for so long. Please R&R. Cheers!


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